T his is John Wilson and the Sinfonia of London’s third album exploring British music for strings and, like its predecessors, showcases lesser-known repertoire alongside an acknowledged masterpiece. In this case, the byways include music by Ireland, Walton and Goossens with Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings as centrepiece.

Britten: Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings album cover.

Written with the country on the brink of war, Ireland’s Concertino Pastorale comes with a baked-in nostalgia for an imagined rural idyll. Wilson gets to the troubled heart of the matter with a brooding Eclogue and poignant Threnody before finding release in the upbeat Toccata. The Sinfonia of London string sound displays a tremendous warmth in Chandos’ spacious recording, especially evident in Goossens’ lyrical nature poem, By the Tarn.

Walton’s Sonata for String Orchestra, a late work from 1971, is a mix of honey and vinegar with an affecting central Lento.…