CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The old warning about judging a book by its cover applies to the new album by flutist Jonathan Keeble and harpist Ann Yeung, music professors at the University of Illinois who perform and record as the Aletheia Duo. Their second CD is "Song of the Black Swan: Works Inspired by Nature." The instrumentation and New Age title combine to suggest the CD is an hourlong soundtrack suitable for meditation or a garden wedding.
It's not.
"I had a moment of panic at the last second about that subtitle," Keeble said. "I was like, 'Man, this is going to wind up on easy-listening stations.' "
"But nature can be challenging," Yeung said. "There are some provocative moments in the CD."
The album includes works across the sonorous spectrum, from the familiar "Fantasia Andina," based on the Andean folk tune "El Condor Pasa" popularized by Simon and Garfunkel ("I'd rather be a sparrow than a snail") to the premiere recordings of "Shining River," by Shafer Mahoney, and "Chaparral," a piece that evokes the scrubby, combustible evergreen thickets of Southern California. "Chaparral" was composed by U. of I. music professor Reynold Tharp.
"There are some moments in both of our CDs that have ferocity and despair, but we're committed to making sure that it's a repertoire that invites people in," Keeble said. "It's important to both of us to keep our feet grounded solidly in music that has cultural meaning, that has an ability to bridge the span that sometimes separates musicians and the listening public."
"If someone hears a piece that's presumed to be easy listening - and I hope some of it is easy to listen to - then maybe they'll check out something else," Yeung said. "Hopefully it keeps people curious."
Having played as a duo since 2002, they released their first CD, "Voyage: American Works for Flute and Harp," in 2010, to overwhelmingly positive reviews. Multiple critics cited Keeble's seemingly effortless execution of the Jennifer Higdon 1992 solo flute piece "rapid fire," a demanding barrage of trills, register leaps and extended techniques. Keeble's rendition "has to be heard to be disbelieved," one critic wrote.
On the new CD, Yeung's performance needs to be seen to be believed, Keeble said. Yeung took the Kent Kennan piece "Night Soliloquy," originally composed for flute with piano and strings, and arranged the piano and strings parts for harp. The result demands footwork so fast that Keeble makes chopping motions with his hands to demonstrate. "It's got some really crazy pedal work," he said.
Keeble arranged the title track, "O canto do cysne negro," by Heitor Villa-Lobos, written for harp with cello or violin, for flute.
Masumi Rostad, violist with the Pacifica Quartet, joined the duo to record Debussy's well-loved "Sonate" for this CD.
As with their first album, Keeble and Yeung chose to feature compositions written by colleagues and close friends. This disc begins with "Taheke" (the Maori word for waterfall), a set of three pieces composed by Gareth Farr, a New Zealand percussionist, composer and entertainer who was Keeble's classmate at the Eastman School of Music. Mahoney, another Eastman classmate, flew to Urbana from New York where he's on the faculty at The Juilliard School and Hunter College, to be present as the Aletheia Duo recorded "Shining River." The CD also includes two (from a set of 12) "Haiku for the Harp" written by Yeung's former teacher, Susann McDonald, along with Linda Wood Rollo.
Having direct access to the composers produced an environment Yeung refers to as a "creative collaborative," more than just "here's your piece, there you go."
"There's a very interesting relationship between the score and the performer and the audience," Keeble said. "It's up to the performer to figure out what the score is saying, and in these cases, we had the added benefit of knowing the person behind the score. You have a better understanding of where the composer's coming from, and hopefully, you're able to represent his or her intents more truly."
Both CDs were published by Albany Records, a label "devoted to music by American composers ... performed by the best of America's artists." The recordings may be purchased online at albanyrecords.com and amazon.com, on iTunes or in retail stores.
Aletheia Duo will tour Europe in September, including performances at Les Museiques festival in Basel, Switzerland, and in Lake Como, Italy.