Together with pianist Michael McHale, Michael Collins continues his exploration of the chamber repertoire for clarinet. After interpreting French music (BIS-2497) and the Brahms sonatas (BIS-2557), he now turns to British music, presenting a hundred years of music for clarinet and piano in this program that reflects the special relationship between English composers and the instrument. The earliest works on this recording are the Three Intermezzi and the Sonata by Charles Villiers Stanford, who made no secret of the fact that Brahms was his model. As with his Viennese counterpart, Stanford's music is balanced yet seductive and in this case beautifully conceived for both instruments. Gerald Finzi, known for the power of his vocal music, also lets the clarinet sing in his five Bagatelles, composed during the Second World War. Light and touching, they seem like a personal reinterpretation of the baroque dances from Bach's instrumental suites. It is not surprising that Malcolm Arnold's Sonatina, with its energy and allusions to jazz and dance music, has always been popular with clarinettists. And last but not least, Joseph Horovitz, the last composer in chronological order, is represented with his Two Majorcan Pieces and his Sonatine. Here, too, the music is playful and provides an excellent stage for the clarinet.