Vaughan Williams’ searching Second Quartet of 1942­44 is a key work in his output‚ straddling the very different worlds of the Fifth and Sixth symphonies. Whereas the Gramophone Award­winning Maggini Quartet brought an intrepid range of expression and bracing rigour to this work‚ the Nash adopt a rather warmer‚ more yieldingly intimate approach. In their hands‚ the ‘Romanza’ second movement emerges with a songful purity which anticipates the glorious ‘Cavatina’ of the Eighth Symphony. If they don’t evince quite the same sense of unanimity of vision and tingling concentration as the Maggini‚ it’s a sensitive‚ delectably unforced display all the same. This also holds true for the marvellous Phantasy Quintet from 1912‚ another supremely thoughtful and affectionate performance‚ if less tightly­knit than that of their super­budget rivals. Elsewhere‚ Marianne Thorsen and Ian Brown form an eloquent partnership in the underrated Violin Sonata‚ written during 1952 for Frederick Grinke and premièred by him in a BBC broadcast on October 12‚ 1954 (the composer’s 82nd birthday). It’s a meaty‚ purposeful utterance (‘fine and challenging’ was the verdict of Joseph Szigeti‚ an early champion)‚ the last of whose three movements comprises a set of six variations on a theme taken from a 1903 Piano Quintet in C minor (withdrawn by Vaughan Williams some 15 years later). That just leaves the Six Studies in English Folksong of 1926‚ a winsome sequence of miniatures‚ given here in its original guise for cello and piano‚ and the moody The Lake in the Mountains for solo piano‚ taken from the score for Michael Powell’s 1941 film‚ 49th Parallel. Sound‚ balance and presentation are excellent; this disc will surely give much pleasure.