Villa-Lobos’s nine Bachianas brasileiras, in their various incarnations, are represented fitfully in the catalogue. Claims – as here – of ‘completeness’, however, need qualification. Four works have alternative versions, ranging from additional movements (Nos 1 and 5, though the latter has a voice-and-guitar arrangement, consisting of just the famous ‘Aria’) to orchestrations of piano (No 4, 1939) or choral (No 9, 1944) originals. These originals, varying the instrumental and textural palette, should have pride of place with the orchestral alternatives neatly filling the otherwise unused half-disc without the need for an unrelated concerto (Bátiz) or clutch of shorter Chôros (the composer).

In selecting the orchestral versions alone, Naxos – like Iris before it – has missed an opportunity. But what of the performances? They are very serviceable: the playing is more refined than the composer coaxed from his French orchestra five decades ago or than that which the Brasil Symphony Orchestra managed for Karabtchewsky, although not quite as polished as from the RPO or Cincinnati Symphony. Rosana Lamosa is accomplished but no match for Hendricks or De los Angeles in No 5 but Schermerhorn’s other soloists fare better.

The last three Bachianas (1942-45) are the most impressive here, comparing well with the competition. In No 4, Schermerhorn observes the first movement repeat (as do the composer and Karabtchewsky, unlike most interpreters, Bátiz included), although there sounds like an artificial fade-out midway.

Naxos’s sound is good on the whole but a touch patchy. In No 2’s celebrated ‘The Little Train of the Caipira’ the piano part has rarely been so clear, yet in the preceding movement the bassoon’s riposte to the trombone solos is barely audible. (The tempo is also a bit rushed.) Occasionally piano and percussion are favoured, sometimes to the detriment of the acoustic picture as a whole. My recommendation for the ‘complete orchestral’ set remains with Bátiz (López-Cobos an alternative for Nos 2, 4 and 8) but this is nonetheless a fitting tribute to Schermerhorn, who died this year.