Martyn Mystere

The Apprentice was mostly completed a full two years before it was released. Martyn's record label, Island, rejected the tapes of the songs in 1988, even though artistically they were not too far removed from his previous release, Piece by Piece. In fact, this album turned out to be the more cohesive of the two. Eventually released by Permanent Records, it's by and large a well-crafted collection of songs. Its only weaknesses are the sometimes too-strong dependence on synthesizers and the song "Deny This Love," which is Martyn doing bad dance music (and featuring a truly horrible a cappella introduction). Otherwise, it's an enjoyable album. "Look at the Girl" is a wistful follow-up to his 1974 song "My Baby Girl," while the haunting and moving "Patterns in the Rain" features Martyn's first recorded acoustic guitar playing in years (even though it's not very predominant). "Income Town" is an upbeat, more rock-oriented track, which has a sort of obscure in-joke added to it.

Sapphire is a rock album by John Martyn, who by this stage in his career had almost entirely abandoned the acoustic guitar and folk approach in favour of a glossy pop/rock sound. Recorded at Compass Point Studios, Nassau, Bahamas and CaVa Sound Workshops, Glasgow, Scotland, the album was originally released on LP by Island, catalogue number ILPS 9779, with cover photography by Anton Corbijn and a cover illustration by Cathie Felstead. Robert Palmer assisted in the later stages of the recording.

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.

The number of Aho recordings has grown substantially since my 2009 MusicWeb survey, The Music of Kalevi Aho. Initially, that focused on BIS releases, as the label’s championed this composer’s work from the start – eClassical lists 35 albums so far – but others are showing interest, too. Which is why we’ve now set up a dedicated, easy-reference index, with links to every single Aho review published by MWI. Our feisty Finn, 70 this year, is a fast worker – I reviewed three of his latest albums just a few months ago – so all credit to BIS for recording his new pieces with commendable speed. Even then, there’s still a lot waiting in the wings.

This program from the BBC Symphony Orchestra features compelling performances of two very different symphonies. The complex, visionary pantheism of Vaughan Williams's 'Pastoral' is an ideal foil for the unbridled ferocity of his Symphony No.4. The album includes an special bonus - Martyn Brabbins's idiomatic realization of Saraband 'Helen' - heard here in it's first recording.