LOUISE TALMA: “THE AMBIENT AIR”; “FULL CIRCLE”;...

LOUISE TALMA: “THE AMBIENT AIR”; “FULL CIRCLE”; “LAMENT”; THREE BAGATELLES; “KALEIDOSCOPIC VARIATIONS”; “FOUR-HANDED FUN.” CRI SD 549. Useful as an anthology of Talma’s long career, this recording includes two earlier works, “Four-Handed Fun” (1939) and Three Bagatelles (1955), along with four more substantial works from the 1980s. Once a student of Nadia Boulanger, Talma’s work has evolved from the American neo-classic tradition, which she still seems to feel comfortable in. Pianist Sahan Arzruni participates in all six works but best demonstrates his mastery of Talma’s style in the brainy “Kaleidoscopic Variations” (1984), a theme and seven variations for solo piano. Also worth mentioning are “The Ambient Air” (1983), perhaps Talma’s answer to the New Age movement for flute, violin, cello and piano, and “Full Circle” (1985), a well-crafted orchestral piece with rigidly composed palindromes and other techniques, performed aptly by the Prism Orchestra, conducted by Robert Black.