Backstage With Katherine Ryan

Music can enrich and enhance the cinematic spectacle of some of movie historys greatest moments, and sometimes the music has a life of its own, beyond the confines of the silver screen. This collection from Welsh mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins brings together her most popular tributes to some of the greatest film themes and composers from some of the most popular movies of all time, including her interpretations of Everything I Do (I Do It For You) famous as the theme from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, and I Will Always Love You made famous by its use in The Bodyguard.

Among the young British instrumentalists vying to pick up the mantles of the great soloists of a generation ago, flutist Katherine Bryan seems among the most promising, and she takes a major step forward with this, her second release. Her startlingly clear, bright articulation in the upper register is pleasing on its own, yet the real attraction here is that she approaches a repertory intelligently and brings fresh perspectives to it. The Flute Concerto (1993) of Christopher Rouse only seems to be the odd item in the set; Rouse's instrumental writing, with its intricate grasp of texture and register, is truly a descendant of the French (and French-Swiss) music on the rest of the album, and it was an inspired choice in terms of showcasing Bryan's technique as well. The three central movements have a memorial tone, with flute solos woven into Rouse's characteristically spacious chords, and Bryan has the stamina to stick with the long line here. Ibert's delightful Concerto for flute and orchestra (1934) receives an absolutely crackling performance from Bryan.