Vaughan Williams wrote his Concerto in F minor for bass tuba and orchestra for Philip Catelinet, who gave the premiere with his LSO colleagues under John Barbirolli at the Royal Festival Hall on June 13, 1954. Catelinet was quick to suggest to the composer that the piece might also be adapted for the euphonium (tenor tuba). Towards the end of 1956, RVW consented to the idea; but sadly nothing came of it until 2018, when both Oxford University Press and the Vaughan Williams Charitable Trust sanctioned the present, outstandingly idiomatic reworking (with the home key transposed up a fourth to B flat minor) by the brilliant euphonium player David Childs and superbly accomplished orchestrator Rodney Newton. Given the numerous subtle touches and deliciously deft tweaks in instrumentation, to say nothing of the irreproachable agility and eloquence shown by the expert performers here (the sublime central ‘Romanza’ could hardly be more ravishingly essayed), it’s hard to imagine that the composer would have been anything other than delighted.

Originally scored for euphonium and brass band, Michael Ball’s 2002 Concerto proves a work of invigorating substance and personality, boasting an especially fetching slow movement that would have pleased his composition teacher at the Royal College of Music, Herbert Howells. It’s an approachable, finely crafted offering, thoroughly deserving of wider dissemination – as, for that matter, is the Concerto that Edward Gregson wrote for David Childs in 2018. It, too, features a genuinely inspired slow movement (‘Song without Words’), whose lyrical beauty and translucent textures cast quite a spell. I also love the banter between euphonium and timpani during the cadenza at the end of the satisfyingly cogent first movement (which is bound together by a dramatic five-note motif heard at the outset), while the vigorous finale (‘A Celtic Bacchanal’) makes quite a splash. Only Paul Mealor’s 2017 Concerto slightly underwhelms, for all its undoubted mellifluousness and ample opportunities for solo wizardry (negotiated here with nonchalant aplomb).

As I’ve already intimated, performances are out of the top drawer. David Childs’s contribution throughout strikes me as a marvel of technical security, nimble poise and rewarding musicality. What’s more, he enjoys simply superb support from the BBC Philharmonic under Ben Gernon, and everything has been captured with demonstration-worthy realism by the experienced team of producer Brian Pidgeon and balance engineer Stephen Rinker. A classy issue and unexpected treat: do investigate!