Devised during Britten’s perilous ocean voyage back to the UK from North America in 1942, A Ceremony of Carols comprises the main offering on this latest anthology from the admirable Martinů Voices under their founder and artistic director Lukáš Vasilek. It’s given in the arrangement for mixed voices and harp made in 1943 by Julius Harrison (1885-1963), and Vasilek masterminds an exquisitely mellifluous rendering. Who could resist the delectable skip of ‘Wolcom Yole!’, ‘I sing of a maiden’ and ‘This little babe’ or fireside warmth of ‘There is no rose’ and ‘Balulalow’? And harpist Kateřina Englichová is exemplary in her solo; playing of grace, hush and concentration.

Britten’s captivating sequence is followed by a similarly poised performance of Hymn to St Cecilia, that other masterwork he completed while on board. Vasilek and company do it proud, but competition is fierce and I have to declare a slight preference for those classy existing versions from the likes of the Choir of New College, Oxford, under Edward Higginbottom (Novum, 5/13), The Sixteen under Harry Christophers (Coro, 11/15) and Justin Doyle’s RIAS Chamber Choir (Harmonia Mundi, 3/19). Opening proceedings comes a vibrant account of the early Te Deum in C, composed in 1934 and first performed on November 13, 1935, by the St Michael’s Singers, Cornhill, with Harold Darke directing and George Thalben-Ball at the organ (the BBC commissioned an orchestral version the following year). Conductor and commentator Paul Spicer has written approvingly of its ‘drama, energy, variety, and clarity and integrity of structure’ – a spot-on assessment of a bracingly inventive achievement.

Lucy Walker provides a knowledgeable booklet note, full texts are included and the sound is richly atmospheric to match (we are also promised a multichannel Dolby Atmos mix, which may offer even greater focus and transparency). Short measure, certainly, but high quality – and do check out, if you haven’t already done so, this splendid team’s enchanting collection of Martinů’s complete chamber choral works (Supraphon, 3/18).