CRITIC’S CHOICE

Berta Joncus I can’t stop listening to Lamentation by Tunde Jegede, the composer and virtuoso cellist and kora player. In this CD, Jugede and members of the London Sinfonietta probe what it is to lament, combining lyricism, melancholy and the peculiar stillness engendered by loss. Velvety timbres – of cellos, flute, kora, marimba, and double bass – merge in textures through which haunting melodies drift, impressing themselves on the ear even as they change shape.