One of the glories of the CD catalogue has been that an unknown composer backed by a devotee can get recorded. The little-known composer is Martin Shaw (1875-1958) and the enthusiast is George Odam, who has provided informative notes and full texts of the songs, not always coinciding with what is sung. Shaw wrote hymn-tunes – ‘Through the night of doubt and sorrow’ was a hit – and was co-editor of Songs of Praise and the Oxford Book of Carols. His overall standing was reflected when he became the first composer Britten commissioned for an Aldeburgh Festival – the first one in 1948 – and five of his church pieces were included in the 1975 festival.

There’s enormous variety in these songs, written between 1914 and 1942, and all published at the time. The idiom is diatonic, solidly in the English tradition, but some poems are straightforwardly set whereas others have elaborately illustrative piano parts, like ‘The Airmen’, celebrating the heroes of the Battle of Britain. The poets themselves range from Shakespeare, Burns and Kipling to unknown amateurs. There are lyrical gems such as ‘I know a bank’ from A Midsummer Night’s Dream; light comedies such as one promoting sea-bathing; and patter-songs with precisely gauged speech rhythm. Shaw can even rise to drama where ‘Black Sir Hugo broke his neck’ and more seriously in WE Henley’s assertion: ‘I am the captain of my soul’.

This attractive selection benefits from having three excellent singers, all with good diction. With persuasive performances like these it looks as if there’s a case for making room for another English song composer.