Recess! Media

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There’s far too little in the world of children’s music that is gentle, soothing, and yet demanding and sophisticated. And despite the wide-spread popularity of the theory that classical music can actually, in the words of one record company, “build your baby’s brain,” there are still far too few first rate recordings of classical music for children. But the famous flutist, James Galway, in his new CD, “Music for My Little Friends,” is helping to fill this sparsely furnished musical space. And what a beautiful addition this collection of works is to any child’s, to any family’s home. There are pieces by Mozart and Gluck, Ravel and Saint-Saëns, and there are lovely surprises, like Galway’s adaptation of the Five Easy Pieces of Nino Rota, who is generally known for his film scores, and Phil Coulter’s Lament for the Wild Geese,some of which you’ve just heard. But the real show-stoppers are the three selections from Gabriel Fauré — his famous Pavane and Sicilienne and his lesser known, graceful, complex Berceuse, which is like the perfect ending — or beginning — for a perfect summer’s day — of building all those necessary daydreams.

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