"Rain Songs" has been named “one of the truly great works for flute and harp” by the Jefferson Duo, for whom the work was commissioned. Its title and mood is inspired by the sound of the Andean rain stick, which is performed by the harpist at the outset and end of the work. The movements follow the Baroque sonata tradition of slow-fast-slow-fast, the first two mysterious and the last two lyrical. In the opening movement, the quiet rain stick accompanies a slowly unwinding alto flute melody, dark...