A superb disc and one whose contents are sure to receive plenty of exposure on Classic FM. And I am not being patronising. Every item here has the strong appeal of directly communicative music from composers who want to involve and move their listeners. Tim Rhys-Evans's Serendipity, just over two dozen strong, sing with all the fervour one expects from a great Welsh choir, with a remarkably wide dynamic range but also with the sophistication which comes from careful preparation and an instinctive feeling for the music's emotional and spiritual core.

The two key items for me are Barber's Agnus Dei, which at its climax has greater intensity here than any performance I have heard of the string Adagio, and Karl Jenkins's “Benedictus”, one of those rare contemporary pieces which indelibly haunts the memory. But there is much else besides. John Rutter, of course, and the Spirituals, but notably the richly sustained Lux aurumque of Eric Whitacre and the thrillingly full-throated yet sublimely serene account of Geraint Lewis's Souls of the Righteous. One notes also the fine organ contribution of Jeffrey Howard, both here and in Mathias's eloquent piece which gives the album its title. The programme is gloriously framed by the Parrys - Joseph's quintessential Welsh hymn tune Aberystwyth and Hubert's stirring anthem I was glad, with its exhilarating cries of “Vivat”. The recording is first class; the notes are, appropriately, in both Welsh and English. But I wish room had been found for the full texts.