Cello 360

This is a stunningly imaginative, centuries-long journey in the company of one of France’s finest young cellists. Not many albums can accommodate Dowland, Marin Marais, The Beatles and Ligeti by way of Grieg, Dutilleux and Pablo Casals. However, La Marca creates a framework that makes it all hang together perfectly. Atmospherically recorded, Cello 360 is a lesson in programming and confident, powerful musicianship. Thierry Escaich’s “Cantus I”, a modern classic, is astoundingly well played, while Giovanni Sollima’s “Lamentatio” (with La Marca vocalising as well) is deeply moving. The softer numbers, such as “Yesterday” and the love theme from Chaplin’s Modern Times, are gorgeously lyrical.