This latest CD of music by Ronald Corp OBE is an inspired mixture of settings of Francis Booth’s cycle of poems interspersed with Corp’s own arrangements of John Dowland lute songs. Inspired by the starkness and directness of the poetry of his long-time collaborator Booth, Corp has scored the work for counter-tenor (beautifully performed by rising star Magid El-Bushra) with a halo-like accompaniment of vibraphone, flute and cello. The juxtaposition of these new songs sung by a counter-tenor against Dowland’s 17th century music realized in modern arrangements is a revelation, shedding new light on the older works, which in turn reverberate through Corp’s songs.

A superb disc of world-premiere recordings by a great English composer.