20th Century Works for Cello and Strings

Of all the string instruments, the cello seems to come nearest to possessing a soul, partly because of its great range, from the deep nobility of its lowest baritone to bass register, to the plangent eloquence of its high soprano one. Of all the strings it has the most human-seeming voice, though a voice beyond the capacity of any one person to imitate over its full gamut. This human, soulful side of the instrument seems often to emerge most clearly when it is accompanied by other strings, a homogenous background against which it can stand out as an individual. The varied compositions on this disc form a powerful collection of modern works for this combination ...