Here is a fine recording of the Mass for the Octave of the Nativity of the Virgin and the First Vespers, as reconstructed from Sarum sources by Jesse Billett. It is good to see that a choir of the stature of King’s College is not afraid of making a chant recording that is something other than ‘lollipops’. Additionally, these particular services have a clear historical connection with King’s College, in that the Virgin Mary was, with St Nicholas, one of the patrons chosen at the college’s foundation. That connection is made even more present by the inclusion in the Mass of the collect for the college’s founder, Henry I.

The men of the choir sing with vigour and beauty of tone but also phrase remarkably well: listen to the splendid rise and fall of the melismatic Gradual Audi filia, for example, or, at the other extreme, the pendular swing of the rhythmic sequence Ave, praeclara maris stella. In the Vespers, this capacity for phrasing is absolutely essential for the psalmody, which can so easily become leaden. The easy flow of the answer-and-response structure of the psalms is a delight to the ear and the spirit. The highest recommendation, then, for repertoire, performance and outstanding recorded sound.