If Sir Arthur Bliss wrote a finer work than the Meditations on a Theme of John Blow (1955), I would like to hear it. A beautifully balanced set of expanded variations on a theme from the Sinfonia to Blow’s setting of Psalm 23, Bliss’s score is a glowing exhibition of his compositional prowess. Its sequence of Introduction, five Meditations, Interlude and Finale bear superscriptions from the psalm – excepting the scherzando third meditation, “Lambs” – which colour the characters of each section. But, as Giles Easterbrook notes in the booklet, there is a parallel expressive strand running throughout the work, of memorial to the fallen of the Great War in which Bliss had served and his brother was killed. And somehow it achieves greater weight than Morning Heroes.

The inspiration behind Metamorphic Variations (1972) was George Dannatt’s triptych Tantris, based on the Tristan legend. Composed nine years after Bliss’s retirement from large-scale composition, this kaleidoscopic score turned into his largest abstract orchestral piece. Its 14 variations each bear a descriptive title – eg “Ballet”, “Assertion”, “Speculation” – collectively comprising a tour de force of the octogenarian composer’s art.

Meditations has been recorded before: Rignold splendidly on Lyrita, Sir Charles Groves and the RLPO (Carlton – nla) consistently swifter until the Interlude and Finale, Handley (HMV, not I think reissued on CD) impeccably shaped, yet the newcomer is beautifully played, well paced and boasts the finest sound to date. Handley’s BBC SO Metamorphic Variations was coupled with the Groves Meditations and remains the tautest version but Lloyd Jones scores in terms of performance and superior sound. Recommended.