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 disc’s 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.

Johan Helmich Roman’s 12 keyboard sonatas, composed c. 1735-37, are veiled in mystery, as it is not known why he wrote them nor what instrument they were intended for. In 1746 he assembled the pieces, each consisting of between three and seven movements, into a single manuscript. They remained unpublished, however, and as Roman did not provide any titles to them, they have since been referred to both as ‘suites’ and ‘sonatas’. Whatever the label, this collection testifies to a period of great stylistic diversity and change, as observed by a composer who remained wide-open to new developments.

In Stockholm during Johan Helmich Roman's lifetime, the recorder was the most common wind instrument, used throughout the social spectrum – including the Royal music establishment. The transverse flute, however, was generally the preserve of the nobility and bourgeosie. That hasn't stopped the celebrated recorder player Dan Laurin from taking up his countryman’s sonatas on his own instrument. With his fellow musicians in Paradiso Musicale, Laurin opts for a justifiably Italianate slant – providing great variety in realizations characterized by bold and striking harmonizations.

Originally conceived by the maker Adriana Breukink in 2008, the "Eagle" recorder has rapidly developed into an instrument which combines a large sound with a wide range, making it ideal for playing with modern instruments. When the Swedish recorder virtuoso Dan Laurin first encountered it, he was fascinated but also puzzled. What kind of music could he play on this instrument? Coming into contact with the Dutch composer Chiel Meijering he soon found out. Meijering, who had started to write for the recorder as early as 1979 – had developed a passion for the new model and was composing Eagle concertos with string accompaniment at a rapid pace. In fact, if there was a problem with repertoire for the Eagle, it was what to choose. As their correspondence developed, Laurin was struck by the very personal language in the compositions that he kept receiving from the composer. Dividing his own music into four cate­gories dreamy, nostalgic, rocking and heavy metal. Meijering told him that the roots he had always had in pop music had gradually become more and more important. Soon thoughts of making a recording emerged, and took definite shape when the third, vital piece of the puzzle was found: the fresh, young string ensemble 1B1 from Stavanger in Norway, and its founder, the dynamic violinist Jan Bjøranger. Their collaboration has borne fruit in this disc with fifteen individual movements, selected by the performers and the composer during the recording sessions.

Andrzej Panufnik’s (1914-91) three original works for solo piano, spread out over almost four decades, are all highly crafted, demonstrating the composer’s fascination with mirror forms and symmetrical patterns. + Also included here are two ‘posthumous collaborations’ between the composer and his daughter Roxanna, herself an acclaimed composer, as well as two of Ms. Panufnik’s own compositions. + The young British pianist Clare Hammond devised the present disc for her first BIS release.