Recordings of Lennox Berkeley's music

British Recorder Music

British Recorder Music album cover Format: CD
Label: Meridian Records
Release date: November 2011
Catalogue no: CDE84608

Ross Winters has been committed to the promotion of British recorder music ever since his first London performance at the age of ten. Five of the six works on this ground breaking CD have never been presented in this format before. Bush's 1975 Sonatina is a far more substantial work than its title suggests, and this world première recording will enable you to appreciate to the full its extraordinarily wide ranging expression. The second movement on the tenor recorder will repay several hearings.

Berkeley's Sonatina is now a well established classic of both recorder and flute repertoire. Its slow movement is exquisite and its finale always raises a smile. Establishing the recorder in its rightful position as a participant in modern chamber music alongside other established instruments was a major aim of this recording. The quartets by Berkeley and Cooke are fine examples of beautifully conceived chamber music. The Berkeley has been recorded using flute and piano but never before in its intended version with recorder and harpsichord which we present here. The slow movement of Cooke's quartet is serenely beautiful, and recorder players in particular will relate to the expressive range and vitality of his trio and variations and to the many virtuosic moments in all the pieces. (Synopsis by Meridian Records)

This recording is supported by a grant from the Lennox Berkeley Society.

Performed by Ross Winters (recorder), Julian Jacobson (harpsichord), Yuka Matsumoto (violin) & Jessica Burroughs (cello)