This exceedingly well-filled disc stands as a resounding testimonial to an important American composer of Episcopalian/Anglican choral music, recorded in the very church where he worked so assiduously from 1971 until 2004. Has there been a more influential musician than Gerre Hancock (1935-2012) in preserving and developing the all-male choral tradition in the USA? I fancy not. A dynamic encourager, gifted improviser and composer of real merit, much of Hancock’s choral output flowed after his retirement, largely as the result of commissions. His idiom is accessibly diatonic with nods to some of the milder ‘moderns’, imbued with a Texan breadth and a healthy dose of Gallic charm and flair.

The earliest work recorded is the Air for Organ (1960), dedicated to Judith Eckerman, whom he married in 1961. Its gently lulling opening is deceptive since the music unfurls into something much heavier and agitated. Hancock’s concise organ variations on the hymn tune ‘Ora labora’, composed by one of his distinguished British-born predecessors, Thomas Tertius Noble, are more light-hearted, providing a taste of his extrovert improvisational style.

The 1989 set of Evening Canticles is notable not only for some slightly ungrateful word-setting and exposed high notes for the trebles in the Magnificat but also for a highly atmospheric opening to the Nunc dimittis. The Missa Resurrectionis is pithy and Francophile.

The anthology’s finest pieces are the extended anthems, many of which benefit from the accompanimental combination of brass and organ. The resplendent contribution made by The Saint Thomas Brass adds a glowing shine to the opening A Song to the Lamb. By contrast, The Lord will surely come starts with a soothing ‘Kyrie’ before becoming increasingly rhapsodic and Howellsian. Andrew Padgett’s gripping baritone solo is another highlight. Judge eternal displays Hancock’s hefty, muscular facet to perfection, in sharp relief to the beautifully crafted You are one in Christ Jesus. However, the finest anthem and the disc’s crowning glory is How dear to me (2007): hauntingly memorable, symphonic and spacious, with openly searing and soaring phrases – burnished once again to great effect by the brass.

A contrasting pair of Hancock’s carol arrangements are included: an exquisite version of the Polish Infant holy, Infant lowly (a refreshing change from David Willcocks’s familiar Carols for Choirs arrangement), and a robust treatment of Come, ye lofty. The final track on the album is a heartfelt unaccompanied Deep river. Jeremy Filsell directs with his customary exuberance, obtaining a fresh, bright tone, with polished support from his two associate organists, Benjamin Sheen and Nicholas Quardokus. A splendid release, highly recommended.