The major work on the disc, composed in memory of the composer’s mother, is The Passing of the Year (2000). This sets seven texts, including poetry by Blake, Dickinson and Tennyson, the latter’s ‘Ring out, wild bells’ being given a suitably wintry treatment. The combination of double chorus and piano (with Christopher Cromar providing solidly satisfying support) offers a wealth of textural and dramatic possibilities, most – if not all – of which are eagerly grasped by the composer. There are a few rough edges, including one major discomfort caused by a lapse in intonation, put into sharp relief by the fixed pitch of the piano, which could have benefited from another take. However, this is a major work which deserves to become a choral repertory mainstay.

The rest of the programme consists of unaccompanied pieces, one of the most appealing of which is the substantial Advent motet I am the day, a Spitalfields Festival commission, which includes a subtle hint of ‘O come, O come Emmanuel’. Upper voices alone are put through their paces in It sounded as if the streets were running (three more Emily Dickinson settings). However, for sheer pleasure, the folksy solo My love is mine as sung with beguiling simplicity by Felicity Turner takes some beating. This is an enjoyable disc of approachable music by a master of choral writing.