Carl Vollrath (b1931) was a new name to me when this delightful disc of piano trios dropped through my letterbox. A New York-born alumnus of Stetson, Columbia and Florida State Universities (1953 64), he taught at Troy University, Alabama, for 40 years from 1965, where at least the first of these trios, the diptych The Secrets of the Magdalenian Caves, was composed. In his brief note, the composer gives no other hint as to when these works were written and there is maddeningly little information about them on the internet.

The trios prove Vollrath is a craftsman as composer, each one an object lesson in how to balance the modern piano with violin and cello. Vollrath’s solution is to thin out the keyboard textures so as not to overpower the strings but not overdo it either. The result is attractive, tonal music filled with light and shade.

The descriptive titles came after the music was written, in the case of The Secrets through a comment by a Troy colleague that the music ‘reminded him of images he had seen of ancient Peruvian cave paintings’. The second trio, Tombs of Ancient Times (in three movements), refers to ancient Egyptian burial traditions and became the second in a series ‘Souls in Transitions’, drawing inspiration from the beliefs of the past. The third, Buddha of the Future, is more Janus-faced, inspired by how Buddha has been portrayed previously and wondering how that will change in the future.

Each trio is separate and independent, with its own specific character, for instance in the ticking pizzicatos that open Tombs or Buddha’s march-like finale. Played in sequence as here, they form a coherent larger whole. The Summa Trio, another name new to me, catch the music’s energy and evocative qualities very nicely in naturally balanced sound. Recommended.