The two-violin repertoire is a wide and varied one, and even though this new disc focuses on ‘English Violin Duos’, the stylistic range covered is still extensive. Although the fourth of William Croft’s Duo Sonatas (1704) might seem out of place here, its pithy formal design and retrospective archaism (being initially conceived for two recorders) locate it in the same orbit as comparable works by Walter Leigh and Robin Milford. Most recent is Jim Aitchison’s Syruw (2009), five tableaux that chart the experiences of a day spent on the Kazakh steppe, with the underlying song heard at length in the eloquent final piece. David Matthews’s Eight Duos (2001) is a fine instance of unity in diversity, at its most telling in the evocative strains of ‘Still Afternoon’ and the forthright interplay of ‘Fugue and Dance’, while John McCabe’s Spielend (2003) has incisive outer sections framing a rapt central threnody with its soulful transformations of a Poulenc melody.

Even more impressive, however, are two pieces from the earlier 20th century. Ernest Moeran’s Sonata (1930) is a marvel of concise invention – whether in the restless expression of its opening movement; in the Bartókian angularity of its central Presto; or in the final Passacaglia, the more involving for its emotional restraint. Alan Rawsthorne’s Theme and Variations (1938) is likewise a bigger work than its modest duration might suggest – its initial eight variations falling into a fast-slow-fast sequence capped by the spontaneous flights of fancy of its closing Fantasia. Both of these works benefit, as does the recital as a whole, from superbly responsive playing by Harriet Mackenzie and Philippa Mo – who project the music’s often intricate contrapuntal interweaving with faultless technique and unfailing insight. Finely balanced sound and informative notes set the seal on an auspicious release from Retorica. I hope that more will follow.