Ned Rorem’s clarity of emotional expression is perfectly suited to the ‘breathy gold’ of the flute. Covering much of the composer’s career, these pieces range from the early Mountain Song which captures the spirit of a rural Kentucky folksong, to the meditative and spectacular Four Prayers. Rorem worked closely with and was “honored to be so dazzlingly represented by” the performers on this recording, describing flutist Fenwick Smith as “a Faun and a Daphnis all in one.”