I reviewed this recording of Carlos Simon’s Tales: A Folklore Symphony (2021) when Noseda and the NSO released it as a ‘single’ some months ago. Returning to this richly evocative score, I was impressed yet again by the composer’s ability to write music of serious heft that’s still broadly accessible.

The Block (2017) is a brief, propulsive and kaleidoscopic curtain-raiser inspired by a series of six collages/paintings by the black artist/musician Romare Bearden (1911 88) depicting the vibrancy of one of Harlem’s city blocks. Simon packs quite a lot of variety into six and a half minutes, and he navigates the myriad hairpin turns deftly, even if The Block lacks the dramatic assurance and clear sense of direction one hears in every movement of Tales.

The texts for the four Songs of Separation (2023) – composed for mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges in response to the Covid-19 pandemic – come from poems by Rumi, the 13th-century Persian Sufi mystic. I wasn’t surprised by the faintest whiff of exoticism in the opening number, ‘The Garden’, but I certainly wasn’t expecting such big, bold orchestral writing. Indeed, although the lyrical impulse is steadfast, none of these songs is delicately perfumed or intimate. ‘Burning Hell’, the second number, conjures images out of Dante’s Inferno, with Bridges repeating the title phrase over and over in her lower register; it’s not pretty, and clearly not intended to be. ‘Dance’, the third song, is an off-kilter waltz with a popular flavour, while ‘We Are All the Same’ glances back to a mid-century American brand of harmonic optimism. Bridges sings them all fervently.

Wake Up! (2023) takes its cue from a poem by the Nepali poet Rajendra Bhandari. In it, Simon says he wants us to ask ourselves, ‘Are we asleep?’ A snappy two-note ‘wake up!’ motif serves as a frequent reminder, while dreamy sections often take on a nightmarish character – though not the gorgeous central section starting around 7'18". This Concerto for Orchestra is yet another example of Simon’s finely honed dramatic sense, which sustains and builds tension until the unexpectedly neat ending.

Aside from some unsteady ensemble in The Block, Noseda and the NSO play Simon’s music with panache and understanding, and the recorded sound is top-notch. Now will they please give us a recording of Simon’s Amen!?