Has John Stainer’s 1887 warhorse ever truly gone out of fashion? This ‘Meditation on the Sacred Passion of the Holy Redeemer’, scored for mixed chorus and organ, has, despite its detractors, been a fairly constant fixture of Holy Week, especially among parish and Nonconformist chapel choirs for whom Bach’s Passions are just beyond their grasp. Its 20 movements offer a clear and compact telling of the story with a strong dose of late Victorian melodrama. It is an uneven work, with a couple of particularly creaky sub-Mendelssohnian bridging passages; but, these apart, when the piece is performed with such professional polish and intensity as in this new release, it comes up well.

Crucial to a successful interpretation is the quality of the soloists, and conductor Duncan Ferguson has struck gold with tenor Liam Bonthrone and baritone Arthur Bruce. All of the tenor narrations are imbued with suitably dramatic fervour (with ‘The Mystery of the Divine Humiliation’ being especially memorable) and the Choir of St Mary’s Cathedral, Edinburgh, are also on top form. Their diction is crisp and vivid and they show a great range of power and refinement, from the clamouring of ‘Fling wide the gates’ to the hushed intensity of ‘God so loved the world’, which I have never heard more beautifully rendered.

The five hymns are heartily sung, with a real sense of unanimity from the large congregation. ‘Holy Jesu, by thy Passion’ is the least effective, due to its weak melodic construction. The music of the four-part male-voice quartet ‘And one of the malefactors’ is also rather undistinguished. Imogen Morgan provides exceptionally vivid and sensitive organ accompaniment throughout, for example in track 16, ‘There was darkness’, which provides a real sonic treat. She has a clear instinct for quasi-orchestral colour. There is a strong sense of occasion on this splendid recording, which surely sets the benchmark high.