This two-CD set of Britten from the Choir of New College, Oxford, collects together ‘all the music…which might reasonably be sung within the liturgy of the Christian church’. That means obvious candidates like the two settings each of the Te Deum and Jubilate Deo but not pieces like A boy was born or Voices of Today, which were intended for other occasions. One might object that some borderline works have found their way in – notably the Hymn to St Cecilia and A Ceremony of Carols – but they are such marvellous examples of Britten’s choral writing that it is easy to see why Edward Higginbottom wanted to include them.

As Higginbottom writes in his introduction, the Choir of New College can claim a fine Britten pedigree, having made recordings of various of these works from the early 1960s under David Lumsden. To judge from these new performances, the tradition is being proudly upheld. The two outstanding features are the high quality of the choral singing and the fairly relaxed pace throughout. Higginbottom has said that he finds some of Britten’s metronome marks on the fast side for practical purposes but most of the rivals on CD take a minute or two less over the longer works without noticeable discomfort. Compared to Britten’s own recording of Rejoice in the Lamb (Decca, 9/90) or Naxos’s single disc with the Choir of St John’s College, Cambridge, in a selection of these same works (6/00), Higginbottom and New College are slower and less incisive – yet they use their time well, finding a depth of colour and expression that yields its own rewards.

Some collectors may prefer the technical expertise that professional choirs bring to this music (how brilliantly the Monteverdi Choir sparkle in the Hymn to St Cecilia), but Britten himself loved the sound of boys’ voices and some of the works here, such as the Missa brevis, were specifically intended for them. The range of works included across the two discs makes this new set self-recommending. Prospective purchasers, though, can also be assured that individual performances are near, or at, the top of the tree.