Once again, Tenebrae and their director, Nigel Short, have put together a programme that ranges from the Renaissance to the 21st century, from the neglected to the familiar, with no sense of strain. Some of the familiar pieces are, perhaps, rather too familiar. I wish I had a million dollars for every recording of the two Tavener pieces in my collection, let alone every time I’ve heard them sung. They are radiantly beautiful and emotionally affecting, but perhaps their space would have been better given over to something less often performed. Moreover, while Tenebrae’s readings are typically impeccable, displaying fastidious craftsmanship, there are other versions (St John’s College Choir, Cambridge, for example, on Naxos, 1/01) that are warmer, more transcendental.

Tenebrae’s special merits, their exceptional diction and sharp focus, are better suited elsewhere, not least on the two Russian liturgical pieces and Britten and Auden’s Cecilian homage, which reminds us how the composer brought out the best in the poet. The singing here is particularly crisp and agile.

The most recent composition is Lukaszewski’s Ave Maria, a more-than-worthy addition to the considerable list of settings of this prayer. The earliest is Allegri’s Miserere. The celebrated solo part with its top C is here entrusted to soprano Grace Davidson (placed rather far back in the reverberant middle-distance) who sings well enough to disarm purists preferring the part to be taken by a treble.

Other highlights in this interesting recital are the pieces by Lotti, Kodály and Harris, and Nigel Short’s setting of the tune widely known as Barbara Allen.