Nature has proven a beacon of inspiration for generations of artists. Mahler spent his early years exploring the fields and forests around his Czech hometown; the yearning Blumine takes us there with music of tranquil beauty. Grace Williams’ Sea Sketches portrays the many moods of waters off the Glamorganshire coast, sometimes stormily animated, sometimes eerily still. An atmosphere of surreal dreaminess emanates from Seven Early Songs, a collection based on poems about the call of a nightingale, the scent of roses, and golden autumn sunlight, sung by BBC Cardiff Singer of the World finalist Anush Hovhannisyan.
Sometimes the simplest music can be the most powerful. From a lone violin line and a plaintive melody of centuries before, Vaughan Williams spins gold in his two most-loved masterpieces.
