BEN FOSKETT (b.1977): Violin Concerto (Clio Gould [violin]), JONATHAN COLE (b.1970): Testament, LUKE BEDFORD (b.1978): Or Voit Tout En Aventure (Claire Booth [soprano]).

Description: Cole's Testament is a tribute to the memory of Sue Knussen, a tireless supporter of young composers in the UK, including Cole himself. The music consists of long, melancholy melodic lines, with a numb, shocked feeling, interrupted by an angry outburst towards the end. Foskett's concerto is in a single movement of gathering intensity, in which the solo protagonist is the predominant figure in every way; the orchestra is scored without violins, and the ensemble echoes or reflects the soloist's soliloquy, rather than actively challenging or participating in it. The principal mood is one of questing uncertainty, underpinned by uneasy tension. Bedford's song-cycle sets mediæval texts connected with the idea of music, which may be interpreted as having some relevance to the state of music today. He makes no use of mediæval musical material, however; the idiom of the music is his own, which like the other works here is broadly eclectic post-modernism, grounded in extended tonality, with the rediscovery of the richness of late-romantic harmony that is increasingly common among younger composers. Texts and translations included. London Sinfonietta; Oliver Knussen.