Henriëtte Bosmans was born into a musical family in Amsterdam in December 1895. Her father, Henri Bosmans, was principal cellist of the Concertgebouw Orchestra. Her mother, Sarah Benedicts, was a concert pianist who taught piano at the Amsterdam Conservatory. Her early piano studies with her mother led to a career as a concert pianist, but by the 1920s she was concentrating on composition and orchestration studies. She was soon considered the most talented Dutch composer of her time.

Although her early works are in more of a Germanic Romantic style, she soon began to experiment with Debussian impressionism and bitonality. Her works for the cello in particular display a deep understanding and appreciation of the instrument.

This CD was an absolute revelation to me. The Trois Impressions are more than encores or salon pieces: the first Cortege (Procession) features a throbbing ostinato with a whiff of the exotic. The second, Nuit Calme (Still Night) is rather melancholy and the third, En Espagne (In Spain) is a really jubilant virtuoso piece. When I describe the Ariette and Chanson as being in the mood of Fauré’s Après un rêve, I mean it as the highest form...