As the high opus numbers of these three works, all written between 2009 and 2016, betray, David Hackbridge Johnson (b1963) – composer, performer, sometime record producer, teacher – has been busy. The three purely orchestral works recorded here are not just his first to appear on disc, they are – with one small exception – the first orchestral works of his to be performed at all. Johnson’s Brian-like doggedness in creating despite the indifference of the outside world is unusual; but what is so astonishing is not his ambition in attempting such large, big boned structures (Motet No 2 runs to 13 action-packed minutes) but that he possesses the compositional technique to achieve them so completely.

The Ninth Symphony (2012) opens with tremendous sweep and power, like a (highly personal) fusion of Elgar and Vermeulen, sustained compellingly throughout this quarter-hour-long span. The ensuing set of variations and compound-form finale are built on an equivalent scale. Each concludes in a riveting passacaglia, only the second fully resolving. This is a profound, complex and visionary utterance, not easy listening, but repays living with.

There are fleeting reminiscences of other composers, telling in providing a context for Johnson’s music to operate within but no more. The music always sounds like the product of one acute musical mind, the lovely Communion Antiphon No 14 (2016), evoking the chimes of St Boniface, Whitechapel, no less than the symphony. The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra audibly believe in the music in three terrific performances. Conductor Paul Mann’s unequivocal acclaim for the works is manifest in every bar. With excellent sound, available on disc or FLAC, hi res and MP3 downloads, this is strongly recommended.