During the almost quarter-century since Peter Seabourne (b1960) made his belated return to composition, the Steps piano cycle has grown to sizeable proportions, with 10 volumes to date (earlier instalments were reviewed in 9/13, A/14 and 4/17). My Song in October (2021) is the eighth, its subtitle ‘Nineteen album leaves caught by the wind’ hinting at the content therein.

Inspired partly by the death of the composer’s wife, these pieces are mostly reflective – often inwardly so – if never overtly sombre in feeling. Each one takes its cue from a poem (printed in the booklet or available online) ranging over several centuries, but the connection is more metaphorical than literal. Listeners might try the sixth (after Shelley) with its limpid pathos, the 10th (after Rilke), which pivots between the ecstatic and fatalistic, or the 19th (after Hughes), whose ‘voice in the wilderness’ evinces a Messiaenic aura achieved by very different means.

His catalogue now encompassing most genres, Seabourne has written several song-cycles, of which September, Just Septembers (2002) comprises nine settings of Emily Dickinson. These are given focus by their passing from the fulfilment of summer, via the rumination of autumn, to the desolation of winter; specific numbers alluding to the broader song tradition, here with a distinctive sensibility those at all familiar with his music will recognise as being typical of this composer. At barely 20 minutes, this is also a cycle that needs to be experienced in total.

It could not have had a more eloquent advocate than the late Karen Radcliffe, her perceptive account from 2004 eminently worth releasing. Michael Bell proves as dedicated an accompanist here as he is insightful in the piano cycle, making this the most absorbing release of Seabourne’s music so far.