Grace Williams (1906-1977) is widely considered to be Wales’s foremost female composer. She studied with Vaughan Williams at the Royal College of Music and Egon Wellesz in Vienna, composing in many genres throughout her life. Her chamber music, recorded here for the first time, spans 40 years.

This release features all world premiere recordings, as works by Welsh composer Grace Williams are rarely recorded. Her orchestral work Fantasy on Welsh Nursery Themes is available on Marco Polo 8225048.

Madeleine Mitchell is widely regarded as one of Britain’s most outstanding violinists, performing as a soloist in over forty countries for two decades. Her previous recordings on Naxos include chamber works by William Alwyn (8570340) and Howard Blake (8572083). Of the Alwyn recording Gramophone wrote: ‘Performances throughout reflect great credit on all concerned in their scrupulous preparation and unquenchable conviction.’ MusicWeb International also praised her performance of Blake’s Violin Sonata: ‘This is a very enjoyable and exciting disk, not least for the superb Violin Sonata. Madeleine Mitchell is a committed advocate for this music and it is to be hoped that the Sonata, at the very least, will enter her regular repertoire.’

The most recent release in the British Music Society series is William Sterndale Bennett’s Sextet in F sharp minor (8571379), performed by the Villiers Quartet with pianist Jeremy Young and double bassist Leon Bosch. Pizzicato awarded the album 5 stars, and commented: ‘The performances are fresh and dynamic, making this release an admirable programme of lovely chamber music.’