Reviewed by Trevor Kirk

The piano is without doubt a noble instrument, especially if it’s played well – I am not gifted at all in that direction, so for me, albums like this are an especial delight. Charles Timberlake is based in Hampshire and has a gentle touch on the ivories; he is also a composer of some ability, all the 12 tracks on this CD are his, and they add up to over 56 minutes of excellent music, enhanced by John Daniels’ haunting orchestral arrangements. The CD cover bears a portrait of a lion, painted by Paul Matthews, and Charles says in the sleevenotes that he felt drawn to the lion theme through his love of CS Lewis’ Chronicles Of Narnia, and also through it being the traditional symbol of St Mark. Appropriately, my favourite track on first listening is “Lion Of Judah”, but the title track, a real magnum opus at over 10 minutes, has a lyrical quality that made me abandon my PC for a while and just relax and let it soak in. This is light years away from cheesy worship without words stuff; send your pennies to Charles pronto and get one of the best piano albums I’ve heard this millennium.

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