Cheryl Frances-Hoad (b1980) has enjoyed a fruitful relationship with Champs Hill Records these past few years, this latest release a revealing overview of her extensive chamber output.

Almost all the pieces emerged over the decade 2007-17 – the exception being The Prophecy (1998) which, drawing on human irrationality in the face of death, evinces a propulsion and cumulative intensity that speaks very much of youthful uninhibition. At the opposite end of the spectrum are brief pieces for flute, piano quartet, and violin and piano that touch on more reticent while often ambiguous emotion; or the five miniatures of Cloud Movements, where clarinet trio outlines scenescapes of exquisite poise. The lilting central panel of Songs and Dances is framed by inward elegies, while the three sections of Game On draw inspiration from game theory (the concept, not the rock band) and mechanised dystopia in this laconic interplay between piano and the engagingly ‘retro’ sounds from a Commodore 64 keyboard.

Bookending this sequence are works exhibiting Frances-Hoad’s understated yet appealing idiom at its most immediate. The Whole Earth Dances juxtaposes stark declamation with easeful contemplation through to the sombrely cathartic close, a gift for piano quintet, realised with conviction by the Schubert Ensemble. As does the Gildas Quartet My Day in Hell, music inspired by Dante with writing for string quartet whose post-Viennese sound world imparts a certain irony to these deft evocations of infernal and purgatorial ‘circles’.

With sound conveying the familiar clarity and spaciousness of the Music Room at Champs Hill, and detailed if rather haphazard annotations, this should find favour with those having acquired previous releases of Frances-Hoad, while newcomers could profitably begin here.