Odysseus and the Sorceress is a retelling of stories from Homer’s Odyssey in words and music by English composer Rachel Stott. Featuring virtuosic violin and viola playing from period instrument specialists Catherine Martin and John Crockatt, beautifully accompanied by theorbist Alex McCartney and The English Cornett and Sackbut Ensemble, the instrumental tracks illustrate Odysseus’s adventures as he crosses the Mediterranean in search of his homeland. Actor Abe Buckoke tells the stories in English with Maria Telnikoff providing lines in the original Ancient Greek. Their narration is interwoven with music played on renaissance flute, alto sackbut, viola d’amore and aeolian harp.

Alan Ridout’s six string quartets are skillfully crafted gems written in the last decade of this underrated composer’s life. Not a note is wasted in these highly contrasted, multi-faceted and engaging works. Full of beautiful melodies and rhythmic energy, they all nevertheless exude a poignancy and tenderness that is quite haunting and deeply intimate. They are recorded here for the first time by the renowned Coull Quartet. Formed in 1974 by students at the Royal Academy of Music under the guidance of renowned quartet leader, Sidney Griller, the Coull Quartet rapidly achieved national recognition, and were appointed Quartet- in-Residence by the University of Warwick in 1977, a post which they still hold today. The Quartet, which includes two of its founder members, has performed and broadcast extensively throughout the UK, and has made tours of Western Europe, the Americas, Australia, China, India and the Far East. Since the mid-1980s the Coull Quartet has made over 30 recordings featuring a wide selection of the repertoire closest to their hearts, from the complete Mendelssohn and Schubert quartets to 20th century and contemporary British chamber music. Their album of quartets by Maw and Britten received universal acclaim; in addition to being featured in ‘Editor’s Choice’ in The Gramophone, it was also described as the ‘Benchmark Recording’ by BBC Music Magazine.