Through her research of women composers, clarinetist Florie Rothenberg has amassed a thorough collection of contemporary works, forming the basis for her new recording, Voices of Trees. Along with the commissioned title piece by her musical accompanist, pianist Rachel Matthews, Rothenberg includes compositions by Joan Tower, Libby Larsen, and Priaulx Rainier. Noting the powerful and clear voice of each composer through these works, Rothenberg hopes to help move these pieces further into the clarinet repertoire.

TRACK LISTING:

RACHEL MATTHEWS: Voices Of Trees
1. Listen through the rustling leaves 5:40
2. Night scherzo 2:19
3. Witness 4:50

JOAN TOWER: Fantasy (Associated Music Pub, Inc.)
4. Fantasy 14:41

LIBBY LARSEN: Dancing Solo (Oxford University Press)
5. with shadows 3:27
6. eight to the bar 3:04
7. in ten slow circles 2:57
8. flat out 3:47

PRIAULX RAINIER: Suite For Clarinet & Pianoforte
(Schott Music Ltd, London ASCAP)
9. Vivace 4:26
10. Andante come da lontano 2:03
11. Spiritoso 1:54
12. Lento e tranquillo 3:04
13. Allegro con fuoco 2:26

MUSICIANS:
FLORIE ROTHENBERG - clarinet
RACHEL MATTHEWS - piano

PRODUCTION:
Recorded by Matt Lutthans at the Greenlake United Methodist Church, Seattle, WA, in November 2006
Mastered by Matt Lutthans
Photography by Claudia Dewald
Cover design by John Bishop

REVIEWS:

CD Hotlist Music For Libraries
Michael Bonnard
An enjoyable collection of modern works for clarinet and piano by women composers. The Joan Tower "Fantasy" is one of those gems that music-lovers run across occasionally that makes them fall in love with music all over again. Libby Larsen's "Dancing solo" for solo clarinet is great fun for the listener but technically difficult for the player, a very sunny piece that requires a lot of work to make it shine. Priaulx Rainier's suite is the most serious compositionally, a five-movement arch form reminiscent of Bartok. Rachel Matthews, the very talented pianist on this album, wrote the piece that gives the album its title. "Voices of Trees" is a well-written piece of program music that evokes for me the mood of a summer Sunday morning with a light breeze blowing. Highly recommended for all collections.

All Music Guide
Adam Greenberg
Little-heard are modern compositions most of the time, with most classical musicians as well as fans opting more often for the classics, as it were. Seattle-based clarinetist Florie Rothenberg wanted to push the envelope a bit in response to this, finding compositions from modern female composers specifically for the clarinet and piano. The recording opens with the title composition, a fairly pastoral series written just for the album by Rothenberg's accompanist Rachel Matthews. From the pastoral format of the opening series, the album moves to a somewhat more modern, disjointed sound with Joan Tower's Fantasy. Libby Larsen's Dancing Solo suite would nearly fit into the aesthetic of Gershwin's American in Paris, and South African composer Priaulx Rainier's Suite for Clarinet and Pianoforte seems to decompose the two instruments into their primordial elements, thrashing against one another for periods and working together for periods, always showcasing their singular aspects. Rothenberg does each piece justice, using the clarinet in a starring role rarely heard in the bulk of classical music (and really, in any popular music). Rachel Matthews accompanies ably, keeping herself in the background throughout the majority of the album and coming forward only when the composition demands it of her. Modern female compositions for the clarinet are certainly something of a niche sub-genre, but this duo works well within the restriction.