Thought of as a miniaturist, Howard Skempton has written many works whose impact is not necessarily in proportion to their length. Certainly the Chamber Concerto, its four movements seeming as if in dialogue with each other, and the Clarinet Quintet – moving deftly to its close in a Largo of bluesy pathos – are both typical in their intense economy. The suite from Delicate is drawn from the ballet of that name, in which the diverse interplay of the two cellists is given a subtle rhythmic lift through the addition of a percussionist, while Ben Somewhen makes a double bass the bedrock of the ensemble in music as intriguingly elusive as is the collection of drawings by Ben Hartley that inspired it.

Those new to Skempton may find the choral items even more enticing. To say his concern is with the audibility of the words risks underestimating the skill with which he ensures this. Thus the glowing serenity of Shelley’s paean to scientific enlightenment in The Voice of the Spirits, Flecker’s evocation of heavenly transience in The Bridge of Fire, Drinkwater’s reflection on the impassiveness of seasonal change in Roundels of the Year and – most affecting of all – the quiet ecstasy drawn from the Song of Solomon in Rise up, my love. Exaudi and BCMG are manifestly attuned to the idiom, and recorded with ideal clarity. Informative notes from James Weeks and the composer enhance a release that confirms Skempton’s move to the centre of British new music as complete.