Review Text
Giantess marks the second solo album of flutist Jennie Oh Brown. A deeply personal project, this album is dedicated to her late grandmothers. Both grew up, raised families, and survived during a time when Korea was ravaged by war, oppression, and poverty. This collection of works captures their spirits through stories of courage, wonder, faith, struggle, and loss. 2016 Pulitzer Prize Finalist Carter Pann joins Brown as collaborative pianist on his own works, as well as Shulamit Ran's Birds of Paradise. A vibrant and colorful work, the brilliance of Bird's outer movements beautifully frame the soulful second. Pann's Giantess embodies it's title in this heroic work for flute and piano. It is contrasted with Pann's Melodies for Robert for flute, cello, and piano, where lush harmonies bring a calm lyricism to the movements. Valerie Coleman's Wish Sonatine depicts the passage through which Africans were trafficked across the Atlantic. Misook Kim's Amazing Grace is derived from the hymn while taking motivic ideas from the Korean folksong Arirang. Visionary composer Augusta Read Thomas' work for flute and string quartet, Plea for Peace, was written to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the world's first nuclear reactor. Jennie Oh Brown is a founding member of Picosa, a Chicago based ensemble dedicated to music that crosses boundaries of genre and time. She is also on the faculties of Wheaton and Elmhurst Colleges.
