James Crabb, Branford Marsalis, Håkan Hardenberger, Martyn Brabbins - Sally Beamish - The Singing (2015)

These works of Sally Beamish, composed 2003-12, highlight the inspiration she has found in her adopted homeland Scotland and its landscape and history, while also reflecting her interest in jazz and Scottish traditional music. Often collaboration closely with her performers, the present discs the three concertante works are all played by the eminent soloists for whom they were written: James Crabb, Branford Marsalis and Håkan Hardenberger. Conductor Martyn Brabbins and the RSNO, an ensemble that has performed her works on several occasions, join the former two soloists.

Versatility is a defining quality of the British composer Sally Beamish (born 1956), as the soloists here remind us: James Crabb plays melancholic accordion in The Singing; Branford Marsalis is the lyrical saxophonist in Under the Wing of the Rock (originally for viola but in this version for alto sax and strings); Håkan Hardenberger takes the virtuosic solo in the brassy, urban Trumpet Concerto. Beamish acknowledges her musical debts to her adopted home - in the traditional music, the landscape and the history of Scotland, borrowing from skirl of bagpipes, Gaelic singing and birdsong. A Cage of Doves conjures the Orkney landscape, celebrated in the writings of George Mackay Brown. Atmospheric, keenly felt and expertly played by all. -- Observer , 27/9/15

For 75 minutes let Sally Beamish's music evoke another world among the varied landscapes of Scotland. This disc focuses on three recent works for soloist and orchestra. The Singing, a concerto for accordion (sounding like bagpipes), tells of the despair of 19th-cntury highlanders and skies teeming with birds. Under the Wing of the Rock for saxophone and strings blends Celtic song and jazz. The Trumpet Concerto, with Hakan Hardenberger as expert soloist, turns to urban energy and decay. Each, potently conducted by Martyn Brabbins, lingers in the air after it is heard. -- Ft, Oct'15

Executed with effortless fluency and contagious flair by its dedicatee James Crabb. BIS's ever-expanding Beamish discography notches up another milestone.