If Toby Spence's young-sounding tenor is not as personal as Peter Pear's distinctive voice, heard in Britten's Decca recordings (made in the 1960s), his tonal freshness and acutely observed articulation of the words are absorbing. In the Serenade, he's ably partnered by Martin Owen... Clio Gould's Scottish Ensemble is smaller than most of her recorded rivals... Yet the clarity and vitality of the playing more than make up for any lack of weight. The Frank Bridge Variations, for instance... comes across with particular vividness.

...these are dramatic and evocative performances...[the Scottish Ensemble's] accompaniment to Toby Spence's moving performance of Les Illuminations' 'Being Beauteous' creates a feeling of being suspended in time...Martin Owen's horn playing is rich and expressive in the Serenade, and he manages the haunting, swooping octaves in 'Dirge' with apparent ease