ANNE GIRARD ESPOSITO - La Flûte Traversière En Bois
Bemol Productions BEMO079
Anne Girard Esposito studied classical flute in her native Jura (the French mountainous one, not the Scottish island one) but her travels eventually took her to Brittany, where she became increasingly enamoured of the wooden flute and set out to study and master the intricacies of that instrument. Further travels took her to Ireland, and to Belfast in particular, where she assimilated further tunes and techniques, learning from Paul McGrattan, Davy Maguire and Harry Bradley, amongst others.
This album says it all on the label – a collection of music played on the wooden flute, which reflects these various influences. Anne is accompanied by Julien Biget, guitar, bouzouki; Guillaume Vargoz, bodhran; Janick Martin, accordion; and Pierre Stephan, fiddle. The guests are used sparingly, to allow the flute to always be the featured instrument, but they provide shades of colouring which perfectly complement the lead melodies.
Anne’s breathing control is fluidly impressive, as befits her training, and all the notes are crisp and precise. She has selected the tracks from a range of sources - Breton wedding tunes, airs and gavottes, Scottish airs and strathspeys, Irish jigs, reels and airs, and a Polish traditional number. There are modern compositions from the likes of Soïg Sibéril and Johnny Og Connolly as well as a couple from Anne herself. The only downside is that, at just over 36 minutes, it’s all over quite quickly, but there’s a simple solution to that – just hit the “repeat” button and listen to it all again!
www.annegirardesposito.fr/la-flute
Gordon Potter
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