Quintessentially Finzi, the tender yet radiant Dies natalis, a setting of texts by the 17thcentury poet Thomas Traherne, depicts both the first sensations of a child as it enters the world, and life' tarnishing experience of the innocence of childhoo
Finzi admirers probably have all of the selections on this wonderful Naxos disc, because once you hear any of his music, you have to pursue his other works (he only has 40 opus numbers). But for those who haven't had the pleasure yet, I urge you to give this disc a try. Although all the pieces were composed in an era when Berg, Webern, Stravinsky, Schoenberg & Hindemith were getting the lion's share of performances and critic's notice, they all have Finzi's gift for an elegaic..
