Bayan Northcott is a leading writer about music, and a composer who has particularly focused on variation forms – hence the ‘doubles’ of this new work (‘doubles’ being an alternative term for variations, as found for example in Bach); and hence, in celebratory mode, ‘doubles all round’ as the title for this sparkling pièce d’occasion composed at the request of Endymion to celebrate their 30th anniversary.

Doubles All Round would indeed make an ideal five-minute introduction to a new-music con...