Niklaus von Flüe (‘Brother Klaus’, 1417 87) is the patron saint of Switzerland whose three recorded visions dominate the content and structure of this hour-long symphony by Carl Rütti (b1949). Cast in seven movements, which subdivide into three Parts (one per vision), The Visions of Niklaus von Flüe (2013) strikes me as a type of national programme symphony, such as one might have expected 150 years ago from Raff or Hans Huber (whose First Symphony, the Tellsinfonie, perhaps fits the bill). However, Rütti’s 21st-century, postmodernist style, ascetic scoring – for soprano, organ, percussion (one player) and strings – and atmosphere of restraint militate against such a status, so it is best heard as an expression of the composer’s own relationship to the national saint and the visions he experienced.

Musically, the work is written in a cosmopolitan style, with the recurring elements of the visions reflected in motto themes (more or less developed) in the fabric of the symphony. The structure of the work is led by the extramusical inspiration of the visions, although Rütti reversed the order of the final two to give a more satisfying musical flow (although against the narrative flow of the visions themselves). The symphony is well executed here, not least by soprano Maria Schmid, who has a long and taxing part, occasionally insecure in the topmost register. Rainer Held directs a nicely balanced and nuanced performance from the Novosibirsk State Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra and the instrumental soloists who, while they may have found the style unusual, do not sound overly challenged.

The same positives apply to the couplings on the curiously underfilled second disc (just 27' long), devoted to the final string orchestral works of Caspar Diethelm (1926 97). The three works here – two short memorial items (the Passacaglia and Consolatio) and the set of studies ‘Now the path completes the circle’ for a Swiss youth ensemble – all date from his final year and are pleasing enough, but for the life of me I do not understand why they were included. There is no specific connection between Rütti and Diethelm that I am aware of and the half-filled second disc would, I suggest, have been more useful as a separate issue filled with Diethelm’s music.