Weber brought new eloquence to the art of setting the operatic scene with descriptive overtures, especially through his ear for orchestral colour. Here are all six opera overtures, plus those for the incidental music to Preciosa and Turandot. The Ruler of the Spirits and Jubel are independent pieces, the latter celebratory and ending with a terrific orchestration of the tune we know as “God Save the Queen”, the former one of Weber’s most brilliant pieces, one that really ought to feature more as a concert-opener. Antoni Wit goes at it with a will, and nimbly catches the good humour of the Abu Hassan overture, not least thanks to a lively oboe here and in Peter Schmoll. The orchestra also boasts a good horn section, very much called for in both Oberon and Der Freischütz. Peter Schmoll and Silvana are attractive examples of how early Weber began finding his voice as an orchestrator, in the case of Schmoll when still in his teens.

If only the sound were better, this would be an easy record to recommend. But as well as writing beautifully for wind, Weber makes demands on the richness and depth of the full orchestra and, especially in Euryanthe and Oberon, on the hurtling virtuosity of the strings. A crowded acoustic does not help clarity here, or in the busy figuration at the climax of Jubel. The seldom-played Turandot, with its quirky little oriental tune that caught Hindemith’s ear for his Weber Metamorphoses, fares rather better.