CCMusic.com

Among Schumann's inspired late chamber works is a collection of music for more unusual instruments, composed in a concentrated flurry of creativity between 1849 and 1853 and written specifically for particular players, and it is to these exquisite short works that the world-famous Nash Ensemble turns it's impeccable collective musicianship. While Schumann modeled his music specifically to the timbres of the instruments he wrote for - piano, violin, horn, clarinet and oboe - he also arranged these pieces for alternative instruments with an eye to maximizing sales. Here, however, the soloists from the Nash Ensemble present the works in their original scoring in what are bound to be definitive performances - the delicious Fantasiestucke for clarinet, and the fiery and lyrical Merchenbilder, which features star British viola player Lawrence Power. Other delights include the Adagio and Allegro for horn, a brilliant showpiece, the first Violin Sonata, the Drei Romanzen for oboe and piano and the Merchenerzehlungen for clarinet, viola and piano.