A sometime violinist himself, Catalan composer Jordi Cervelló, born in 1935, declares in an introductory quotation his fascination with the expressive power of the strings. ‘A simple long and calm note,’ he declares, ‘can evoke the most acute sense of remoteness.’ And indeed the essence of this collection lies particularly in the sounds created by the string instruments rather than any structural complexity. The Dos movimentos, especially, contain eerily distinctive individual sounds in both movements, the slow first movement full of heart searching, the more varied second based on some of Otakar Sevcik’s violin exercises. Their dedicatee is Vladimir Spivakov, whose Moscow Virtuosi provided the link between Cervelló and St Petersburg that in 2002 resulted in this recording.

The programme opens with a Concerto Grosso evoking the Baroque form of Handel, Corelli and Vivaldi. The slow movement is especially charming, while the faster movements, more readily featuring dialogue between concertino and ripieno, include a presto finale with Mendelssohnian touches. The Concertino for violin and strings is a light-hearted work, sandwiching between sprightly first movement and third movements a slow movement in the form of a lullaby. It’s the sort of work that, if Cervelló were British, might have appeared before now in one the many collections of ‘String Miniatures’. Gemini, played by violin and cello, has two movements – the first a reflective adagio, the second a more complex and varied divertimento.

Expertly played and clearly recorded, the wholly approachable collection should appeal to anyone who shares the composer’s fascination with string sounds.