Under The Rainbow

“Mathew Rosenblum’s “Under the Rainbow” didn’t hint at larger performing forces but simply included them, in the form of pre-recorded tracks. The work follows a solo flute through a journey of sorts, ironically accompanied by club music and funny quips of well-known cartoon figures and movie characters, including from “The Wizard of Oz. “The latter is the obscured underpinning of the piece, brought distinctly, and perhaps in a slightly kinky manner, to the fore this time by flutist Goodman’s dressing like Dorothy — complete with ponytails, blue dress, red shoes and Toto. At first this threatened to put too much literal focus onto the abstract piece, which she played very well, but soon it became apparent Goodman was on to something. Bringing out Dorothy, she focused more on the symbolic role of innocence as the flute/protagonist travels through the piece, especially when it took stops at a sleazy lounge. Lighting by Andrew David Ostrowski also helped to affect this. Having now heard “Under the Rainbow” several times, the flute line is now emerging from all the recorded, funny “accompaniment” for me. It’s a lovely little melody, though a little melancholy, and in a sense the work is a modern version of a flute sonata.”

“Under The Rainbow” by Mathew Rosenblum…combined a densely constructed pre-recorded sound world with expressive melodic material performed live and with impressive artistry by Lindsey Goodman. It is a fresh take on elements of pop culture, with the sound of munchkins and others from “The Wizard of Oz.”