Blue Heron Duo — an inspiring and entertaining program by guitar and flute duo

Blue Heron 1 Suite, by Ross Thompson (An introspective piece composed by one of the members of the duo, as an homage to the California redwood forest.)
I. Approaching
II. Arrival
III. Gnarled
IV. Up
V. Plainsong
VI. Fast

Histoire de Tango, by Astor Piazzolla
I. Bordello
II. Cafe

Mountain Songs for Flute and Guitar, by Robert Beaser (Through-composed songs based on folk music from the Appalachia.)
I. Barbara Allen
II. The House Carpenter
III. She's Gone Away
IV. Hush You Bye
V. Cindy

This program is based around three "big" pieces for the flute and guitar. If you haven't heard this combination yet, it's ideal. Something about the open harmonics of the stringed guitar and the wind-produced sound of the flute make the blend extremely unique.

Piazzolla's piece is considered standard repertoire for this instrumentation, it's also the first piece we played together and is filled with big emotions and colorful narrative. The Beaser piece came a lot later, but was written for two great instrumentalists of the flute and guitar, and has become a technical and lyrical war horse for flute and guitar duos. It's familiar American melodies, are woven contrapuntally, and offer yet another interpretation of this fluid and vast genre we call "folk". The piece by Ross Thompson, is influenced by nature, specifically the California Redwood forest, where the duo met for the first time and began working together. Although not directly influenced by the other two pieces, its compositional architecture is similar, namely the structure of shorter movements compiling into one larger narrative or suite.