Bryars: Cello Concerto 'Farewell to Philosophy'; One Last Bar, Then Joe Can Sing; By the Vaar.

Julian Lloyd Webber (cello) Charlie Haden (double bass) Nexus Ensemble English Chamber Orchestra James Judd (conductor)

Bald icon Bryars is already a cult figure in certain circles. His music represents the intelligent man's New Age minimalism. His Cello Concerto 'Farewell to Philsophy' is a beautiful woven and gently elated idyll. Cellist Julian Lloyd Webber, to whom the work was dedicated, sings its long lines with the same plaintive intensity that marked his extraodinary recording of the Delius Cello Concerto over a decade ago. It is a gently haunting work which reveals abundant new secrets each time you hear it. The other pieces on his disc - 'One Last Bar', 'Then Joe Can Sing' and 'By the Vaar', an intoxicating semi-improvisation for strings and jazz double bass soloist - are contrasting but equally appealing. The sort of minimalism which once can be described as delightful.

Alexander Waugh