Sonorous Sonatas

Peter Sheridan set out to bring the larger, lower flutes to centre stage, testing their sound and colour within one of Western music’s most traditional forms: the sonata. Commissioned works and substantial duo writing put alto, bass, contrabass and subcontrabass flutes in the foreground.

Peter Sheridan alto flute, bass flute, contrabass flute, subcontrabass flute
Katherine Day piano
Jane Hammond piano
Jessica Laird alto flute
Lisa-Maree Amos alto flute
Andrew Macleod piccolo
Carolyn Morris piano

Gary Schocker composer
Jane Hammond composer
Taran Carter composer
Jelle Hogenhuis composer
Andrew Downes composer
Carolyn Morris composer
Houston Dunleavy composer

For many flutists, holding an alto or bass flute for more than a few minutes is physically demanding. Newer designs ease that burden, and Sheridan hopes players of every age will explore the low flutes without letting practical limits shut out a wider world of tone.

These giant instruments can hold attention well beyond the usual three- to five-minute span. As he puts it, sound waves grow especially interesting near the edges of hearing (20,000 Hz – 16 Hz), and it is those extreme frequencies he wants to invite back into the listening ear.

The works gathered here shape a sonorous field that rewards close attention. Giving sound duration, intensity and colour, then fixing it in notation so it can be remade long after first creation, remains one of the quiet miracles of art music.

Tone lingers in the mind and inner ear after the air is still — what Sheridan calls the ‘Sonorous Effect’. Like ripples carrying energy across a pond, musical vibration moves through mind, planet and, in his image, the galaxy beyond.

Reviews

A beautiful selection of music by many wonderful artists including the talented Mr Peter Sheridan, taking your ears on a magical, sonorous journey enhanced by the deep resonance of the low flutes and substantial sonatas. ★★★★★

— iTunes Customer Review by TH289 ▸

Mr Sheridan and co have brought together a wonderful sequence of pieces which draws you into a beautiful journey with highs and lows. Ultimately lifting the spirit and leaving you pleasantly surprised. ★★★★★

— iTunes Customer Review by rjzaar ▸

the instruments are new and thrilling [like a] Suess-ianly delight...

— Mark Adams, Calif., USA

The prime mover of all this exposition of the flute in all its forms is Melbourne based academic and flute enthusiast Peter Sheridan. The two CDs are in fact very different. While Sonorous Sonatas is a recording of Peter Sheridan playing low flutes in duets with piano, alto flute and piccolo, Fantasie Australis is a CD of large-scale pieces for the full Monash University Flute Ensemble often including twenty-one flautists. Peter Sheridan established this flute ensemble in 2010 and it has paved the way for many flautists and composers to explore the sonic possibilities of the extended flute family.

Don’t expect to hear a Bach fugue or a flute arrangement of the Brandenburg Concertos. These adventurous albums are all new music with mostly Australian composers commissioned by Peter Sheridan to explore the sonorities of the huge range of the western flute. The composers are Gary Schocker, Jane Hammond, Taran Carter, Jellie Hogenhuis, Andrew Downes, Carolyn Morris, Houston Dunleavy, Vincent Giles, Vaughan McAlley, Thomas Reiner, Russell Gilmour, Emma Rogers and Michael Rosiak.

— Peter Winkler, Music Trust Website

Artist

Peter Sheridan

Peter Sheridan is a low-flute specialist whose bass, contrabass, subcontrabass and hyperbass playing has opened a new sound world through more than seventy commissions and a substantial body of recordings.

Audio previews

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Tracks

Music for a Lost Planet (2009) Gary Schocker

Above 3:11
Below 5:14
Burn 1:16
Float 3:46
Song Without Words (2013) Expressive and relaxed Jane Hammond 3:27

Owis Sfutel (2012) Taran Carter

Adagio 2:45
Allegretto 5:00
Con molto energy 4:52
Largo 1:50
Adagio 2:51
Elegia Tranquillo, senza tempo Jelle Hogenhuis 7:34

Sonata, Op. 99 (2008) Andrew Downes

Largo e espressivo 5:09
Allegretto con moto 4:47
Adagio con amore 5:21
Allegro Brilliante 5:15

Forest Over Sea (2013) Carolyn Morris

Awakening 4:26
Skylarking 3:54
Turquoise Sea 4:05
Ocean Ride 2:37
Clumsy Dances, No. 6 (2011) A Clumsy Gigue Houston Dunleavy 2:06

Performers

Peter Sheridan · alto flute, bass flute, contrabass flute, subcontrabass flute
Katherine Day · tracks 1–4, 6–10
Jane Hammond · tracks 5, 12–15
Jessica Laird · alto flute · track 11
Lisa-Maree Amos · alto flute · tracks 16–19
Andrew Macleod · piccolo · track 20
Carolyn Morris · tracks 16–19

Composers

Taran Carter

Taran Carter has been writing music since he realised that to be a pop star you either had to look good, sound good or write nice tunes. He chose the last. Taran’s musical interests are diverse; they include Toru Takemitsu, Paul Simon, Iannis Xenakis, Augie March, Arvo Pärt, The Beatles and Claude Debussy.

Andrew Downes

Andrew Downes was born in Handsworth, Birmingham, in 1950. He won a choral scholarship to St. John's College, Cambridge (in 1969), where he gained an MA degree specializing in composition; and in 1974 went on to study with Herbert Howells at the Royal College of Music. Between 1990 and 2005, he was Head of the School of Composition and Creative Studies at Birmingham Conservatoire and was awarded a Professorship in 1992. He now works as a freelance composer.

Houston Dunleavy

Houston Dunleavy was born in Ulster and has pursued a wide-ranging international career as a musician, conductor and composer, working across Australia and the United States.

Jane Hammond

Jane Hammond has composed original music for mainstream and community theatre and the concert stage, for ensembles and companies including Ensemble Liaison, Victoria State Opera, Opera Australia, and the Melbourne International Festival. Her works, heard throughout Australia and abroad, have been described as of “ravishing beauty and rare artistic distinction”.

Carolyn Morris

Carolyn Morris is an accomplished oboist, composer and pianist in the Melbourne area. She has studied at both he the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School and the Victorian College for the Arts (University).

Gary Schocker

Gary Schocker is an accomplished flautist, composer and pianist of outstanding versatility. He has composed sonatas and chamber music for most instruments of the orchestra.

Jelle Hogenhuis

Where to listen

Sonorous Sonatas is available for streaming through Spotify and Apple Music. It can also be purchased through the iTunes Music Store.

Sonorous Sonatas is available as a CD. It can be purchased online through Buywell Music or the Australian Music Centre which both offer online ordering.