CHRISTOPHER BALL (b.1936): Cor Anglais Concerto (Paul Arden-Taylor [cor anglais], Emerald Concert Orchestra; Christopher Ball), Recorder Concerto "The Piper of Dreams" (Arden-Taylor [recorder], Adderbury Ensemble; Ball), Clarinet Quintet (Leslie Craven [clarinet], André Swanepoel, Lowri Porter [violins], David Adams [viola], William Schofield [cello]), Scenes from a Comedy for Wind Quintet (Adrian Brett [flute/piccolo], Arden-Taylor [oboe], Craven [clarinet], Peter Harrison [bassoon], Anthony Gladstone [horn]), Caprice on a Baroque Theme for Solo Recorder (Arden-Taylor).

Description: Clarinettist and recorder player and self-taught composer, we last heard from Ball in 2009 (08L104), a lushly romantic experience anchored by Celtic Twilight and his violin concerto. The recorder concerto inhabits a slightly different region due to the quality of its solo instrument's sound and Ball makes use of Hebridean-like folk themes (all of his own creation though). It's probably the only full-length recorder concerto out there (27 minutes in three movements) and the soloist uses sopranino, soprano and alto instruments. The other two pieces of significant length are the 14-minute cor anglais concerto and the 20-minute clarinet quintet, both of which are firmly in the Vaughan Williams universe of sound and style.