Active as a conductor as well as a composer (he directed a fine account of Malcolm Arnold’s Third Symphony with the Slaithwaite Philharmonic in Northampton last year), Benjamin Ellin is represented on this first disc of his music by three recent and diverse pieces. Three States at Play is a compact sonata for solo violin, a searching Molto cantabile framed by combative outer movements, which benefits from the tensile virtuosity of Artem Kotov. A feel for string-writing is equally evident in the other works. Inspired by the painting by Chagall, White Crucifixion is less a concerto than a monologue for viola – its ruminative and impassioned soliloquy undermined, contested but ultimately reinforced by an ensemble that provides an arresting take on the individual versus the collective archetype. The First Sinfonia is a sizeable piece whose first two movements – a vivid evocation of, then a rapt meditation on the Cinque Terre in Italy – are rounded off by a third that takes its cue from last year’s London riots, in music of often violent and yet finally affirmative energy. These last two pieces are given committed and perceptive readings by the NewNote Ensemble, along with eloquent viola-playing by Rivka Golani and incisive direction by Nic Pendlebury. Approachable without being facile, communicative without being unsubtle, Ellin’s is a musical voice well worth getting acquainted with, while the spacious though detailed recorded sound and the succinct but informative booklet-notes further enhance the attractions of this worthwhile release.