LYELL CRESSWELL (b.1944): The Voice Inside for Mezzo-Soprano, Violin and Orchestra, Cassandra's Songs for Mezzo-Soprano and Orchestra, Alas! How Swift, Kaea for Trombone and Orchestra.

Description: The Voice Inside is a double concerto for soprano and violin, an unusual and fertile combination, not quite unprecedented (Alistair Hinton has also used it). The texts are poems by Scottish author Ron Butlin related to the violin. The seven movements are lively dialogues between the soloists, in a variety of moods- combative, humorous, sustained and melodic, pleading. Alas is a vigorous perpetuum mobile, lamenting the rapid passage of time, while Kaea, a concertante tone poem for trombone and orchestra, portrays a Maori war-trumpet, and is accordingly vigorous and aggressive, with a virtuosic solo part. Cassandra's Songs are atmospheric explorations of loneliness, loss and exile. Cresswell's idiom is largely tonal, with an unusual and individual sense of harmonic and timbral sonority. Madeleine Pierard (mezzo), Vesa-Matti Leppänen (violin), David Bremner (trombone), New Zealand Symphony Orchestra; James Judd.