Samuel Coleridge-Taylor is best known for his cantata Hiawatha's Wedding Feast, which brought him international success as well as propelling his career at home in the UK - success which was remarkable in stuffy late-Victorian England because of his mixed race and humble origins. Born out of wedlock to Daniel Taylor, a medical student from Sierra Leone, and Alice Holmans, Samuel was brought up by his mother and step-father, George Evans, a railway worker, in Croydon, south London. The three pieces recorded here were all composed during his time as a student at the Royal College of Music. They were destined to remain unpublished during his lifetime, and indeed for some ninety years following his untimely death from pneumonia at the age of only thirty-seven.

'Roots’ is an exploration of the music written by Black composers and inspired by Black culture. A homage to the pioneering musicians who paved the way for Randall and his generation. Looking to the future with a specially commissioned piece by young Black composer Xavier Dubois Foley. World premiere recordings of music by Florence Price that was rescued from an abandoned house over half a century after her death. The Perlman protégé celebrates his own journey and shows young people that music can inspire regardless of background.

Born in Croydon in 1875, the son of a Sierra Leone-born doctor and English mother, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s childhood was a tough one. Yet, aged 15, he entered the Royal College of Music and studied composition with Sir Charles Villiers Stanford. The interest generated by the music of ‘this new black Mahler’ soon put him on the musical map, Hiawatha's Wedding Feast being described as ‘one of the most remarkable events in modern English musical history’. In 1904, at a time when it was still extremely hard for black Americans to fulfil their cultural aspirations, he accepted an invitation to America and found himself hailed as an iconic figure. Throughout his short life he found his role as composer complemented by one as political activist fighting against racial prejudice.

"(His) Symphony is a very likeable discovery. Both middle movements display a disarming melodic felicity and assurance, and admiring glances towards Dvorák, although Stanford (his teacher) was never happy with the finale. It was first played by RCM students in 1896 (including Holst and Vaughan Williams !). Although it went down well, it gathered dust for over a century. Bostock's alert and affectionate lead enjoy making it's acquaintance… crisp and clear sound for this world premiere recording. In every respect, a solid thumbs-up" [Gramophone]

Vibrant young pianist, Isata Kanneh-Mason, presents her sparkling second album, Summertime, as she takes us on a journey through the musical landscape of 20th century America. Isata brings her signature flair to this virtuosic and spiritual music for solo piano, including a world premiere recording of a Samuel Coleridge-Taylor piece, the fiercely challenging Barber sonata, and dazzling arrangements of Gershwin's songs.

Known for her vivid portrayals and full, distinctive voice, Elizabeth Llewellyn has established herself internationally as a dramatic and vocal artist of distinction. She has chosen to offer listeners something new by devoting her debut disc to the music of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, much of it never recorded before. To poetry by Christina Rossetti, Coleridge-Taylors Six Sorrow Songs and A Lament are almost all world-premiere recordings. The Southern Love Songs evoke styles including Latin music and flamenco, and the African Romances, never recorded until now, are to words by African-American writer Paul Laurence Dunbar.