One might think that the market for massed-cello music had been satisfied by the durable , but it is not so. There is a , oriented toward contemporary music, and now comes , the offshoot of an organization called Talents & Violin'celles that seeks to provide performing opportunities to young musicians and to showcase new French stringed instrument manufacturing. is largely the creation of cellist , artistic director of , compiler of the program, and author of all the arrangements heard here. They are a varied group, with a few famous pieces on the given theme of (" "), like 's serenade from . Others are rather obscure pieces, and one gets the feeling that searched widely in order to create the desired effect. He mixes melodic pieces like the songs with chordal ones such as the choral pieces by and in such a way that the nocturnal mood deepens as things proceed and becomes delightfully murky. The music is lightened only at the end by a pair of nocturnes. Altogether fresh in conception and beautifully performed by its young players, this is a lovely release for anyone who enjoys the cello's sound. ~ James Manheim