Richard Barrett’s cycle Dark Matter, completed in 2003 and incorporating several pieces for chamber ensemble and voice, is an 80-minute work composed on texts from Hesiod to Beckett, reflecting on humankind’s relationship to the cosmos. The title isn’t as ambiguous as might first seem, for although Barrett’s music is indeed dark, it is also many other things, often at the same time: playful, unnerving and often surprisingly transparent. I say ‘surprisingly’ because of the associations that still dog those associated with New Complexity, whereas Barrett is capable of gestures that are direct to the point of crudity; from this standpoint, the dedication to Xenakis makes perfect sense.

Composer and performers seem wonderfully attuned so that, for me at least, the most memorable passages are often associated with a performer. The range of colours and delivery of soprano Deborah Kayser (from melodious Orphic chanting to rasping stutters and more besides) dominates the first half of the piece, and the vocal range of clarinettist Carl Rosman is also weirdly impressive in ‘Ars Magna Lucis et Umbrae’, transforming what might have been a series of party pieces into something more profound. Meanwhile, the electric guitar of Daryl Buckley (particularly in ‘transmission’) calls forth all the moods I mentioned earlier; the same might be said of the live electronics entrusted to Barrett himself. The sound recording itself plays a part, its unexpected increase in volume nearly overwhelming the listener (well, this one anyway) at the very end. Congratulations to all concerned.