On grounds of sound alone, Anima Eterna’s new all-Czech coupling is something of a revelation. Jos van Immerseel has seen to it that a mix of Czech, German, Russian, French and Viennese brass instruments ring resplendent in the Janáček – heard to their best advantage towards the close of the finale where the fanfares return. In the Dvořák, split basses make for extra depth and the strings in general revisit a manner of portamento that has been all but lost since the distant days of acoustically recorded orchestral 78s at the beginning of the last century (cue up 10'00" into the Largo). The brass chords at the start of the Largo have a warm, burnished quality about them, the strings a gentle sheen and the cor anglais player (Stefaan Verdegem) is superb. Immerseel is careful over tempo relations, keeping the first movement (with repeat) fairly steady and avoiding disruptive gear changes in the scherzo, though I sometimes missed an element of rhythmic bite that other performances seem to achieve as a matter of course. The finale, though, is superbly done, not too fast, securely driven and with an abundance of internal detail.

Janáček’s Sinfonietta is delightfully rustic in tone, the snorting Andante second movement unusually revealing in its quirkiness (great brass and clarinets), the start of the evocative Moderato third movement graced with a very audible harp, which adds substantially to the texture. The beery middle section (from around 3'27") finds Immerseel and his players lifting the phrases skywards and achieving a really exciting effect, the horns yelping away like a flock of gulls. Here the period brass pay the highest dividends. Still, if you’re after a place to sample I’d nominate the fifth movement as a first port of call, the delicacy of the opening, dreamy almost, building towards a thrilling, richly sonorous denouement. Especially impressive throughout the performance is the way Alpha captures high percussion (at 4'54", for example).

A unique pairing, I’d say, one that delivers on so many fronts; though in both works, the likes of Ančerl (Supraphon) and Kubelík (DG, Orfeo) still have the edge in terms of spontaneity. Just occasionally Immerseel errs on the side of caution, which is of little account given the enormous amount of pleasure – and instruction – that this excellent coupling provides.