Richard Rodney Bennett, like his near contemporary, Peter Maxwell Davies, was a prolific writer of choral music. In their youth both were interested in the avant-garde (Bennett studying with Boulez in the late 1950s) before each went on to develop their individual take on tonal language. This well performed disc gives us a generous serving of Bennett’s works from the early 1960s up to his death in 2012, many of which are first recordings.

At the centre is The Glory and The Dream, a four-movement work from 2001 that sets a lengthy Wordsworth text (also set by Finzi in the 1950s). This extensive musing on the loss of innocence is set for choir and organ, and makes considerable demands on the performers. Led by Paul Spicer (of Finzi Singers fame) the young Birmingham singers bring the text...