Britten: Cello Suites; Tema Sacher

Benjamin Britten's three suites for solo cello were written for the great Russian Mstislav Rostropovich – the two men managed to sustain a deep creative relationship in spite of the Cold War politics of the 1960s and 1970s. The multi-faceted ghost of Bach haunts the music. There are fugues, dance movements, a chaconne and a passacaglia. And the Third Suite bows to Russia, using material from Tchaikovsky songs and the Orthodox Kontakion as well as directly from Bach. Jamie Walton's tone sounds slightly boxed-in in the First Suite, but the sound improves, and the playing faithfully follows the extraordinary fluctuation of moods in what have become iconic solo cello works of the late 20th century.