Jacques Bondon - Swing No. 1
Jean Françaix - Cinque piccoli duetti
Claude Debussy - La plus que lente
Eric Robertson - The Rings
Maurice Ravel - Pièce en forme de Habanera
Maurice Ravel - Pavane pour une infante défunte
Maurice Ravel - Deux Mélodies hébraiques

A fine collection of somewhat lesser known and less conventional pieces for the commonplace pairing of flute and harp, featuring two of Canada's musical luminaries and doyennes of the stage and recording studio, Suzanne Shulman flute and Erica Goodman harp. I remember Erica Goodman launching her recording career in the 1990s on the prestigious BIS Records label when it was just getting off the ground, and one of her CDs of Canadian Harp Music garnering a few awards. Suzanne Shulman on the other hand left her mark on Canadian labels such as CBC Records and Marquis Classics, as well as playing an important role in the highly successful series of recordings titled "Classical Kids" whose goal was to expose children to Classical music (Beethoven Lives Upstairs for example).

The main work on this disc which spans eight movements is The Rings by Eric Robertson, was specifically composed for these two artists. It was originally conceived to celebrate the golden wedding anniversary of Suzanne and her husband, but also works very well as the centerpiece of this new recording which underpins the 50 years of musical collaboration between these two musicians. Hence the "Being Golden" title of the album.

As always here the playing is impeccable, with many expressive touches along the way that can't but elevate the beautiful characteristics of each and every piece. And one would think that complacency would set in after working together for over 50 years, but what you hear is highly committed individual playing, as well as a shared cognition of each other's idiosyncrasies and refined musicianship.