JOSEPH RYELANDT (1870-1965): Violin Sonatas No. 4, Op. 63 and No. 5, Op. 71, Cello Sonata No. 2, Op. 66, Romance for Violin and Piano, Op. 59, Nocturne for Cello and Piano, Op/ 64, Canon en Trio for Piano Trio, Op. 70.

Description: Old hands will remember this Belgian composer’s two orchestral discs which came out on the Cyprès label way back when; now this new release is described as “part of a larger project designed to resurrect Ryelandt’s music”, which certainly sounds promising. The composer was a devout Catholic (and wrote much sacred music) and this may explain the ever-present calm throughout these pieces, all of which were written under German occupation between 1915 and 1918. Only in the first movement of the fifth violin sonata (1918) is there a sense of striving and passion. Elsewhere, as in the cello sonata of 1917, there is a pastoral quality, a lovely sense of stillness and equipoise and everything is communicated in a rich, late Romantic language that will appeal to conservative collectors. De la Haye Ensemble.