The latest Claves release from Joachim Carr is titled ‘Numinosum’, a word drawn from Jungian psychology to describe a sort of involuntary mystical or religious experience. The programme suggests that the 35-year-old Norwegian pianist is a musician with a strong spiritual bent and his booklet essay of no fewer than 17 pages seems to indicate that this spirituality flourishes within a rigorous intellectual framework. Busoni’s transcriptions of four Bach chorale preludes serve as headings to chapters variously consisting of Liszt, Franck and Messiaen.

Carr meets the two Liszt Légendes on their own terms with striking results. ‘St Francis of Assisi: Sermon to the Birds’ is all delicacy and finesse, delivered with a thoroughly captivating simplicity. The sounds drawn from the instrument are ravishing throughout. A robust depiction of ‘St Francis of Paola Walking on the Waves’ is conjured without overplaying or recourse to melodrama. Taken together, these are among the finest interpretations of the Deux Légendes in recent memory.

The two selections from Messiaen’s Vingt Regards are breathtaking in their pointillist precision and imagination. Richly evocative, these performances make one hope that Carr will one day record the entire cycle. Meanwhile, some of his subtlest playing is in the Franck. The Prelude is delicately shaded, playing out on a variety of deftly calibrated dynamic levels that seem to cannily anticipate the essences of both the Chorale and the finale. The Fugue unfolds with an unstoppable inevitability before bursting into the flights of retrospective fantasy that conclude this masterpiece. In both concept and execution, this is a performance to satisfy the most demanding Franck aficionado.

The chorale preludes are models of contrapuntal clarity and Carr shapes the actual chorale tunes with great sensitivity. Each is distinctively characterised, though the walking bass of Nun komm der Heiden Heiland tends to plod a bit monotonously, sapping the prelude of a good deal of momentum. That said, this is an unusually thoughtful recording which will doubtless reward repeated listening.