This new release of songs by Hubert Parry is Paula Fan's final recording in a legacy of remarkable recordings from this remarkable Chinese-American pianist, whose unique intellect remained ever curious and inquisitive.

This CD contains three world-premiere recordings of Parry's songs. The first of these is The Maid of Elsinore (1891), the Viking tale of the 10th-century Norwegian King who married Tyra of Denmark. In 1903 Parry's old friend Sir Cavendish Boyle, then Governor of Newfoundland, requested a tune for lyrics he had written for the Newfoundland National Song, Ode to Newfoundland. In 1906 he composed The Laird of Cockpen to lyrics by Lady Nairn, the tale of a self-possessed 17th-century Laird.

Perhaps the words of one of the composer's great champions, HM The King, best summarises the hidden man: "a complex man with a mind of his own, who challenged his upbringing, and, in love, let his heart rule his head".

It is gratifying to think that the 21st century might bring a new image of Parry and his hidden music into focus.