Julian Lloyd Webber continues his admirable championship of British cello music with a disc specifically so titled (ASV DCA 592). Two of the works have John McCabe as firm and sensitive pianist; the rest are unaccompanied. The Rawsthorne duo sonata of 1949 is a deeply felt, beautifully crafted work. The solemnity of the opening Adagio gives place to powerful drama, with both instruments at full stretch. But it is John Ireland's unpretentious yet subtle carol of 1913, The Holy Boy, that best shows off Lloyd Webber's plangent tone, so urgent and appealing.

The longest of the unaccompanied works, and the most recent, is Malcolm Arnold's Fantasy (1987). The eloquence of the opening (and closing) Andantino and a pair of darkly serious Lentos is happily contrasted with a playful March and Serenade. The work is instantly attractive without being superficial. The Walton Passacaglia of 1982 was written for Rostropovich and has a fine virtuoso buildup after prolonged initial growling. Perhaps more telling is a tiny declamatory piece Britten wrote at the end of his life (1976) to honour Paul Sacher's 70th birthday and enshrine the musical letters of his name. Lloyd Webber has given a sterling performance of a body of music that never fails to be worthy.

ROBERT ANDERSON