Elisabeth Poston (1905-1987) was a British composer and musician who studied at the Royal Academy of Music and later worked for both the BBC and the Arts Council. She is best remembered for her setting of theChristmas carol Jesus Christ the Apple Tree which is still performed regularly today. The Harp Trio was commissioned in 1958 by Anthony Friese-Greene to whom it is dedicated. He was secretary ofthe Hampton Music Club where it was first performed as part of a private concert. This beautiful work is one of her more substantial compositions comprising four contrasting movements. Originally scored for Flute Clarinet andHarp it can be performed with a Viola instead of the Clarinet and/or a Piano instead of the Harp.

The title of Paul Mealor's Spectred Light refers to the ghostly lights sometimes seen at night or twilight over rivers or lakes.Tales of the ‘Spectred Lights’ can be found in numerous folk tales around the world and it is often depicted as a malicious character in these stories. In Welsh folklore it is said that the light is 'fairy fire' held in the hand of a ‘pwca’ - a small goblin-like fairy that leads lone travelers off the beaten path at night. As the traveller follows the pwca through the marsh the fire is extinguished leaving the man lost.This short work for Flute Clarinet and Piano is an attempt to depict through sound thisstrange phenomenon. The piece flickers into life and though a series of asymmetric variations leads the listener into a maze of aural colours. As the music reaches breaking point it disappears upwards and dissolves into metal wind-chimes. Out of this a short respite is heard before the music finally hurtles into its finale a blaze of virtuosity.Spectred Light was commissioned by and dedicated to virtuoso clarinetist Esther Lamneck.