Tavener has made a huge impact with his sacred choral music with, for example, over 40 recordings of The Lamb. He has universalised the religious convictions of his teacher Lennox Berkeley and, along with Arvo Pärt, has long dominated the market in spiritual minimalism. His passionate conviction is as inspiring as Messiaen’s and his choral tactics are sometimes similar. Ex Maria Virgine was written in 2005 to celebrate the wedding of Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall and dedicated to them. It is subtitled “A Christmas Sequence” and consists of 10 movements setting a variety of texts with a focus on the Virgin Mary. Many of these are meditative and the whole cycle is framed by a kind of plainsong melody. But at the other extreme there is the ecstatic choral hiccupping of “Nowell, Nowell”; dramatic juxtapositions in “Remember O Thou Man”; and the unabashed theatricality of “Ave Rex Angelorum” going well beyond any Anglican tradition. These outbursts, with vigorous organ participation, place the quieter mystical moments in perspective. Familiar carols like “Ding! Dong! Merrily on high” and “Unto to us is born a Son” get a robust makeover and the cradle song “Little Jesus, sweetly sleep” is rescued from banality by Tavener’s individual way of using simple triads. The composer’s Byzantine allegiances are reflected in the texts of several of the attractive single pieces that follow.

Clare College Choir is outstanding throughout with a remarkable security of attack and precise intonation in chord sequences that are sometimes repetitive but never obvious. The acoustic in Norwich Cathedral is a real asset and so is this vivid recording. Altogether an exhilarating release.