DANIEL JONES (1912-1993): Bagatelles, Sets 1-3, 2 unpublished Bagatelles, BÉLA BARTÓK (1881-1945): 14 Bagatelles.

Description: Jones' three sets of Bagatelles date from the mid-1940s to a decade later. They are all brief - almost all under two minutes - pieces of distinct character. The language is tonal, noticeably more chromatic in the second and third sets than the first. The composer's characteristic asymmetrical rhythms, the complex metrical system he developed, is also in evidence, again more so in the later sets, which seem to chart a growing compositional confidence and originality. One effect of these rhythmic devices, with which Jones seems to be experimenting in the second set in particular, is that often a phrase will end unexpectedly, wrong-footing the toe-tapping listener repeatedly and giving the pieces a lively sense of unpredictability and instability. A few suggest homages to earlier composers of the baroque, classical and romantic periods, and some pungent dissonances and motoric percussiveness in later pieces point to an oblique affinity with Bartók, but the pieces are very varied, following no particular style, and all are thoroughly approachable and enjoyable. No dates are given for the two unpublished pieces, but they sound most closely related to the earliest set. Llyr Williams (piano).