Alexander Goehr is a central figure of the post-war Manchester School of composers with Birtwistle and Maxwell Davies. His work is recognised today for its assimilation of intellectual rigour with transparent expressiveness and richly haunting sonorities. This programme ranges from the Gabrieli-inspired virtuoso brass of Pastorals and the labyrinthine structures of Marching to Carcassonne, to When Adam Fell, with its extraordinary descending intervals discovered in Bach. Alexander Goehr’s close association with Oliver Knussen and the musicians on this recording make these performances uniquely authoritative.