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The Romanian cellist Ovidiu Marinescu recorded the Bach Cello Suites for Navona Records in 2011 to critical acclaim. On this disc he performs a variety of works for solo cello, either alone or in chamber groups, by six contemporary composers, five American and one British, with a range of ages and styles; Andrew March, Greg Bartholomew, Alan Beeler, Bill Sherrill, Arthur Gottschalk and Nicholas Anthony Ascioti. All are united in their lyrically expressive view of the cello and the possibilities it offers, all write in essentially tonal style but bring a variety of attitudes and interests, including non-standard scales and at least one tone-row.

Andrew March’s Three pieces for Solo Cello was written in direct response to hearing Marinescu playing the Bach Cello Suites. Andrew March (born 1973) was born in the UK and studied at the Royal College of Music in London. The first movement, The Night is for Stillness, takes its title from the New Zealand Prayer Book. As you might expect from the title, it is a slow, melancholy piece with a long singing line interrupted by moments of drama. The melodic material and the writing for the cello rather reminded me of the Walton Cello Concerto. The second movement is a Moto perpetuo, short but taxing with the forward movement interrupted by pauses. The third, To Reflect in a Quiet Spot, is the longest. It takes its title from a line in a medieval Latin text, Confessio by the Archpoet, and includes the idea of the composer sitting quietly in a secluded waiting for musical ideas. A slow haunting piece similar in tone to the first movement, again we have a fine singing line, with lovely expressive playing from Marinescu. He plays all three movements with rich and deeply vibrant tones, singing the lovely lines which March gives him.