Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

Had I seen this in the CD rack of my local classical music shop - if such a place still existed - I would not have picked it up. The artwork does not work for me and I have not heard of the composer Edward Harper. Shame on me! This is a lovely collection and I thoroughly enjoyed all of it. Edward Harper was born in 1941, studied at Oxford, London and Milan and has recently retired after 40 years teaching at Edinburgh University. This collection showcases his work in a variety of styles. We open with three folk settings for string quartet that shows Harper's appreciation for the originals in a way that reminds me of Britten and also a sure hand in his writing for strings as shown by the playing of the Edinburgh Quartet. Next we have two Scena, one for solo cello, played by the composer's wife Louise Paterson, and one for flute, cello and piano. Finally we reach Harper's Symphony No 2. This is a choral piece, setting poems by the Dorset poet William Barnes, an impassioned plea for peace in the Middle East by Ron Butlin, "Miracles" by Walt Whitman and an Epilogue from the Latin Mass and Isaiah 11. All the words are worth hearing and the baritone David Wilson-Johnson lets us hear them and Harper's expressive writing reminds me at times of Walton or Part and that, in my book, is high praise indeed.

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