Sometimes, in a position such as mine, one is sufficiently fortunate to be sent a recording that truly elevates the soul. Such is the case with the "Watford 'Til I Die" CD of which I recently took delivery.

This is a work in which refinement and expressive musicality are matched by the discreet pointing of orchestral detail to create performances of utter delight. It is music to lift the spirits, crafted in its entirety with unpretentious early romantic sensibility, grace and infallible taste.

The words, perfectly chosen, pierce the heart of my very being, like emotive arrows fired by Cupid the sweet messenger of love. The contrapuntal arrangement of the vocal harmonies ensures that they are conveyed in a magical manner, with just the right tonal shadings.

As for the orchestration, I can only say that I was transported. As the effect of the police sirens moving from left to right across the soundscape played upon my ears, I could only marvel at the amusing homage to the Newtownian antecedents of the leit-motiv. Promulgated by violin and alto saxophone in harmonic combination, if my expert judgement does not deceive me, this is an effect as exquisite as it is delightful.

On track three, the 'Matchday Mix', it is warming to hear as a divertissement the honeyed tones of Simon Oxley, or "Golden Tonsils" as I can reveal he is known in the elevated critical circles inhabited by aficionados and aesthetes such as your correspondent. His capacity for invention, colour and atmosphere is brilliantly deployed. The subsequent recapitulation of the theme in the 'Ibiza Mix' is electrifyingly harmonious in expressive purpose. The device of the open cadence leaves one at all moments asking for more.

This is an outstanding disc that no lover of the arts at their most imaginative will want to be without. Every right-minded person should make haste to buy this superb CD. It is, all in all, a veritable cornucopia of sound, and testifiably a five-star recording. Bravo!

Gottfried von Operahaus

You can purchase this marvellous souvenir via the order form on this very website.