Memo to all choral directors: if you still haven’t been bitten by the Whitacre bug, then beg, borrow or buy this disc immediately! No sooner has the dust settled on the Naxos disc of Whitacre’s music (9/10) than the man himself assembles the cream of London’s choristers to record a definitive anthology of some of his 44 published pieces. He obtains the best possible blend from his eponymous Singers, who are augmented by Laudibus (drawn from the National Youth Choir of Great Britain) and the King’s Singers. Their collective intonation is stunning, and they sing with conviction and enjoyment. The acoustic of St Silas, Kentish Town, is beautifully recorded, too.

Superlative and compelling performances apart, what of the music? Well, this anthology features three world-premiere recordings of pieces which bear many typical Whitacrian hallmarks: a sonorous haze of piled-up cluster chords, with deep basses and floating upper parts, punctuated by startlingly “scrunchy” multi- (and oft-unresolved) suspensions of rapturous beauty; occasional forays into extended vocal techniques (for example in the astonishingly vivid Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine), as well as lighter, fleeting passages in the delightful Five Hebrew Love Songs, settings of words by Whitacre’s wife, Israeli soprano Hila Plitmann. This latter set features the zestful support of the Pavão Quartet. Other personal highlights include the gorgeous Seal Lullaby (with piano accompaniment from Christopher Glynn) and the chilling The Stolen Child.

When one is bombarded by so much that is tawdry, shallow and ephemeral, this glowing disc deserves the widest exposure. Simply glorious!