Frank Bridge (1879-1941):
- Berceuse
- Serenade
- Élégie
Edward Elgar (1857-1934): Salut d'amour (Liebesgrüss), Op. 12
Rebecca Clarke (1886-1979):
- Epilogue
- Passacaglia
- I'll bid my heart be still
John Ireland (1879-1962):
- Decorations - No. 1. The Island Spell
- Columbine
- Spring Sorrow
- Four Preludes - No. 3. The Holy Boy
Arnold Bax (1883-1953): Nereid
Traditional: The Last Rose of Summer
Herbert Hughes (1882-1937): Down by the Salley Gardens
Máire Breatnach (b. 1956): The Swans at Coole
Traditional:
- An Chúilfhionn (The Coolin)
- She Moved Through the Fair
- The Lark in the Clear Air
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958):
- Songs of Travel - No. 1. The Vagabond
- How Can the Tree but Wither?
- Songs of Travel - No. 7. Whither must I Wander?

I don't know about you but, at this time of year during the early days of May, when all vestiges of winter have seeped into the softening soil, flowers are slowly rising from their slumber and robins are searching for a place to nest, I'm not quite in the mood for the rigid structure and stoic nature of a Beethoven sonata, or the epic and elaborate development of a Mahler symphony. That's when CDs like this one are a welcome change of pace and yet still fulfill your constant need for music.

And not to worry, all of the pieces here originally written or arranged for the cello, piano, violin or a combination of two or three of these instruments, may be considered miniatures in stature, but certainly not miniatures in emotive character or singularity. And here, Gerald Peregrine (Cello), Antony Ingham (Piano) and Lynda O'Connor (Violin), all work together to suffuse even the simplest of tunes like Down by the Salley Gardens for example, with expressive warmth and a hint of nostalgia. Even the pathos and deep sadness within the Passacaglia by Rebecca Clarke or the How Can the Tree but Wither? from Ralph Vaughan Williams are brought to the fore with warmth and conviction by these musicians.

A well-rounded collection of both familiar and unusual repertoire that feeds the mind and soul. After all, just because you're not in the mood for Brahms or Wagner, doesn't mean that you should jump right into a ragtime two-step by Scott Joplin.