Having recorded Messiah, Bach’s B minor Mass, Mozart’s Requiem and Monteverdi’s Vespers, Boston Baroque and Martin Pearlman continue their survey of choral works. Vivaldi’s famous Gloria has been paired with Bach’s Magnificat on disc before, so this is a tried and tested programme.

Pearlman begins the Gloria with a controlled and tasteful orchestral introduction, albeit at a lively pace. The choir seems top-heavy when singing in block chords but is effective in slow passages such as ‘Et in terra pax’ and the opening section of ‘Gratias agimus tibi’. Fugues are not quite so sharply defined. The orchestra play the introduction to ‘Laudamus te’ with an infectious spring, although Tamara Matthews and Deanne Meek both apply lots of vibrato – no evil thing in itself, but it does not suit the precise and direct timbre of period instruments.

We experience more of the same in Bach’s revised D major version of the Magnificat. In ‘Et exultavit’ Meek overpowers the elegant orchestral support with a thick vibrato that might not appeal to all tastes. Pearlman’s direction initially seems short on dramatic conviction but the choral interjection ‘Omnes generationes’ makes things more stimulating. Stephen Powell’s ‘Quia fecit mihi magna’ has personality and Don Frazure’s ‘Deposuit potentes’ provides theatricality. These are tidy performances but there is not much that clamours for rapt attention. Those wanting extrovert stimulation will prefer John Eliot Gardiner’s benchmark Magnificat (Philips, 8/85R) or Rinaldo Alessandrini’s mischievous Gloria (Opus 111 – nla).