In Cambridge, the colleges of St John and Trinity are next-door neighbours. Whether somebody has had his ear to the wall or the coincidence of their releasing much the same repertoire at the same time is just one of those things, the duplication is remarkable. Both are choirs of the front rank and their performances are predictably excellent: one does not particularly want to ‘establish a preference’ (as the University exam papers used to be fond of requiring).

Perhaps we should consider the respective programmes first. Both include the short ‘German Mass’ – Kyrie, Heilig and Ehre sei Gott – and the almost salutary Hear my prayer – Trinity singing in English, St John’s in German. They also have the early Ave Maria with its tenor solo and Venetian lilt. St John’s perform only two of the fine Three Psalms, Op 78, andthat is a first point inclining me to Trinity for preference. To compensate, St John’s have the motet Aus tiefer Not, a major and masterly work, whereas Trinity offer the Six Sayings for the Church Year, attractive but rather less substantial:a stronger bonus is the English Magnificat, vigorous and masterly in structure.

In performance, St John’s are more strikingly individual, but this is not wholly to their advantage. Perhaps as a development stimulated by their new director, David Hill, or maybe a natural extension of the choir’s character, I find in this recital their outgoing, excitingly resonant and spirited singing has gone too far. It becomes a little hard on the ears and, over the hour’s listening, forfeits some of its effectiveness. Trinity, with plenty of life and full-bodied voices, are more moderate and generally, I think, more apt. Take the second of the psalm-settings, ‘Richte mich, Gott’. It opens with men’s voices in unison, and St John’s are splendid in forthright fortissimo, but what they direct to the Divinity is more like a demand than a prayer. Trinity are altogether less exigent, less robustly hearty, and give a more reflective performance throughout. In the first, ‘Warum toben die Heiden?’, St John’s start, unexpectedly, at medium volume and make an effective crescendo, capturing brilliantly the zest (rhythm and discords) of the change to triple time at ‘Thou shalt break them’. Yet Trinity are still better, with the rhythms still more eagerly relished and the dotted notes of the opening more sharply pointed.

In the famous Hear my prayer both choirs and their soloists are resolutely unsentimental. There is the distinction between them in that Trinity have women, St John’s trebles and male altos, which is not necessarily an advantage in Mendelssohn, and indeed is not here. As an alternative to the Cambridge choirs, the Corydon Singers (Hyperion, 4/90) give excellent value. Of the present two, I incline to Trinity. St John’s hardly deserve anything so brutal as a coup de grâce but they rather ask for it when they give their final track to a repeat of ‘Oh, for the wings of a dove’. Why? Especially as they could otherwise have completed Op 78 with the wonderful third psalm, ‘Mein Gott, warum hast du mich verlassen?’