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)

The meditative or reflective forms a key part of Gavin Bryars' musical vocabulary. Each is in evidence here. So too is Bryars the nostalgic - hence the title which matches the serene mood he evokes in this extended, unorthodox, seven-movement Cello Concerto.

Despite Bryars' intriguing, pointillist orchestral background, the Concerto's harmonic language is simple, if not quite to the point of the exquisite stasis one finds in Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet and his other chamber works. The pace of all seven movements is predominantly Lento, though here and there a soaring, lyrical, high passage for solo cello creates some impression of activity.

The chief delight is Julian Lloyd Webber's intelligent reading of the solo line - beautifully judged and sustained, gorgeous in tone, subtle in nuance and utterly disarming in the final Farewell, which really does feel like a culmination. Lloyd Webber also underlines how within Bryars there lies both a refreshing honesty and an unashamed English Romantic.

In the similarly reflective, part-improvised, jazz-inspired By the Vaar, composed for Bryars' own instrument, the double bass, Charlie Haden's pizzicato, with its luscious vibrato, reveals a similarly beautiful tone. But although welcome enough to the discerning jazz enthusiast, it feels less absorbing than the magical One Last Bar; Then Joe Can Sing, with its shimmering, mysterious percussion, played here by the outstanding group, Nexus.