Cecilia McDowall (London-born in 1951) is another of the new generation of highly communicative musicians who, though often inspired by extramusical influences, favours writing which, without being in any way facile, is brightly cogent, freshly witty and expressive in its own right. She often uses minimalist ostinatos – the spirit of Steve Reich hovers – but constantly tweaks the ear with her range of spicy rhythms and colours, then suddenly produces a highly atmospheric and grippingly expressive interlude which is just as compelling. Each of the individual movements within her works is titled, sometimes descriptively, sometimes perhaps with tongue in cheek.

Seraphim, the immediately engaging trumpet concerto, has rhythmically insistent outer movements with a hauntingly ethereal centrepiece, and quotes from Handel in the finale. Dance in the Streets is a two-movement concerto grosso for strings and piano obbligato, unexpectedly inspired by Scottish weather, the drifting mists and stillness contrasting with the wildness of the winds. Dancing Fish is a Russian folk fable, told nostalgically by a soprano saxophone. Not Just a Place evokes a Buenos Aires dance hall with a florid tango-homage to Piazzolla, and Dream City for flute, clarinet, string quartet and harp translucently draws on the paintings of Paul Klee. The lusciously gentle third movement, ‘Before the snow’, is memorable in its poised, oriental stillness.The repetitive pulsating ostinatos of the fascinating closing work for string quartet, The Case of the Unanswered Wire, draws on the Morse code sent out from a Russian ship in 1905 during the Russo-Japanese War and stutters into silence as the ship is attacked and sinks into the ocean.

Performances here are immaculate, full of life, and above all consistently reveal the composer’s imaginative resource. Not surprisingly, Mike Dutton’s recordings are first-class. Well worth exploring if you enjoy a piquant musical vocabulary, underpinned by moments of pure lyricism.