Among Chandos's releases for January is In Memory of...  Classics for
Funerals.  It includes music by Chopin, Verdi, J.S.Bach, Faure, Elgar,
Handel, Rachmaninov, Purcell, Massenet, Purcell, Mahler, Franck, Beethoven,
Part and Barber which comprise, as Chandos suggests, "a tasteful selection
of tracks commonly played at funerals".  As a concept, it seems a bit
suspect.  Do you buy a copy as a planning exercise?  Might it be a
thoughtful gift for Great Aunt Maud?  Will there be discounts if funeral
directors' organisations order it in bulk?  And there really should have
been a slot for the classic New Orleans funeral tune, Didn't He Ramble.

Richard Pennycuick