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Mstislav Rostropovich on cello and Emmanuel Pahud on flute are the central figures in these two recent works by Sofia Gubaidulina, one of the best composers of our time. "The Canticle of the Sun" (1997) is a religious work which uses the text of the title by St. Francis. The London Voices intone the words reverently, without inflection. As the composer says, "This is the glorification of the Creator and His Creation by a very humble, simple Christian friar. I tried, therefore, to make the choral part very restrained, even secretive and to put all the expression in the hands of the cellist and the percussionists." Rostropovich is certainly expressive, and this is a unique and uniquely powerful 45-minute work, a great example of Gubaidulina's singular vision.

"Music for Flute, Strings and Percussion" is a very dramatic work, radically different from "Canticle," with huge menacing tuttis from the orchestra, and bold, loud passages for the flutes of Emmanuel Pahud -- he plays flute, alto flute, bass flute and piccolo. In this 30-minute work, Gubaidulina has divided the orchestra into two halves, one half tuned a quarter-tone lower than the other. These represent light and shadow, yet another device found by Gubaidulina to express her metaphysical vision. "Music for Flute" comes closer to the traditional concerto form than "Canticle," but it is another highly original work.

I highly recommend this disc to anyone interested in the music of Sofia Gubaidulina.

There are a couple of minor problems with EMI's production that should be noted. First, the tracking was not done correctly. "Canticle" has 11 movements, and "Music for Flute" has 3, for 14 total, but the disc only has 9 tracks. So track 9 includes the last 3 movements of "Canticle" (about 8 minutes worth), and the entirety of "Music for Flute." This is annoying, because it means it is impossible to program either piece separately.

I would also like to go on record as saying that EMI's art department should be replaced. This is another terrible cover for an EMI disc, with an atrocious font and the titles splayed in the ugliest possible way, superimposed on a drab background. Worse, there is actually a pile of letters at the bottom of the front of the booklet, and another on the back of the booklet -- whoever thought this was a cutting edge design concept should not be allowed near the production area again. Luckily the music inside this ugly package is radiantly beautiful!