Reviewed by Tom Lennie

Alex Robertson is no stranger to the music world - with formal classical training at both University and Music College, he was once a member of the Brodsky Quartet. Since 1986 he has been working with the small but multi-media Barratt Ministries in Manchester, ministering in music and Bible teaching around the UK (and increasingly on mainland Europe), having also released a well-received violin CD back in '97 (reviewed CR 41). With a most unlikely marketing title, 'Lamentations' is indeed a study of grief and suffering, unpopular but prominent biblical themes! With uncanny aptitude and versatility, Alex's emotive violin weeps and weaves its aching way through a beautiful flow of compositions, all bar one artfully created by the man himself. Cello, viola and keyboards give of their required assistance, as too does Alex's acoustic guitar - actually a Roland XV3080 sound module, but disarmingly authentic! - on "The Fire Burned". Here and elsewhere, sorrow is mixed with hints of optimism - "The Captives Return" carries an uplifting (Yiddish?) charm, and "Desire" is a tender ballad of prayer and worship. Proficiently recorded, this innovative output is often sombre but never depressing, always moody but ever hopeful. Graceful, melancholic tones that speak deep to the soul.

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