Woolf At The Door
Neuma, 2025
9/10
The flutist Emily Duncan and composer Randall Woolf are joined by an excellent cast for these 3 involved pieces that emit much creativity in a modern-classical sort of way.
“Everything Is Green” leads with David Foster Wallace’s text alongside Kathleen Supové’s well timed keys, Rinde Eckert’s narration and Duncan’s animated flute that even recruits Sara Wendt’s vocal samples.
The middle track belongs to “Scott Somebody”, where the emotive wind and fixed media pay tribute to the memory of Scott Johnson with warmth and a heartfelt mood that’s also adventurous.
“Native Tongues” exits, and enlists plenty of strings for an orchestral meets hip-hop excursion that pairs beatboxing with the flute via a highly inventive vision.
Duncan and Woolf have incredible resumes, and their theatrical performance and ability to balance the delicate nature of the flute with plenty of other textures is both intriguing and memorable.
Travels well with: Shannon Wettstein- Con Grazia- A Century Of Italian Piano Music; Jeannine Wagar- Into The Night