Finzi’s early song cycle sets poetry by Hardy, and baritone Marcus Farnsworth catches evocatively its preoccupation with themes of mortality

In the Five Bagatelles, Robert Plane again demonstrates why he is one of the great English clarinetists, this in a performance whose wit, easy grace, and depth of feeling easily matches the playing in his splendid recording of the composer’s Clarinet Concerto. Yet the real stars of the show are the four young members of the Finzi Quartet, who play with an abundance of enthusiasm and sensitivity.

A valuable addition to the catalogue primarily for its inclusion of a hauntingly perceptive performance of his first song cycle.

Though Roderick Williams’s performance for Naxos on what was then the first ever recording of By Footpath and Stile, remains unsurpassed, Farnsworth’s version is certainly a viable alternative for a work that may not be one of Finzi’s best, but points towards the great Hardy songs to come.

Gifted baritone Marcus Farnsworth joins the quartet for the early song collection By Footpath and Stile, capturing the music’s world-wearing nostalgia with a gentle intensity that haunts the memory long after it has ended.