One immediately associates Arnold with orchestral and film music. He had an impeccable technique, a gift for memorable melody coupled to a lively rhythmic energy, and was an imaginative writer for the orchestra, honed from an insider’s knowledge (he was principal trumpeter of the LPO for a time in the 1940s). While this new CD includes two of Arnold’s lesser-known concertos – for organ (1954) and for two violins (1962) – the recording’s special interest lies in several little-known yet highly accomplished choral pieces, a genre for which Arnold is less celebrated.

On the evidence of these performances, one must wonder why. In The John Clare Cantata (1955, commissioned by William Glock), Arnold pays tribute to his Northamptonshire compatriot, who, like the composer over a century later, was an inmate of St Andrew’s Psychiatric Hospital.

The sequence follows the seasons of the year from one winter to the next in appealing SATB chorus settings with piano duet. Written for St Matthew’s, Northampton, is Psalm 150 (1950), a joyful work composed, ironically, when Arnold was at a low point following a serious mental breakdown. Among the shorter choral items are the pair of Ceremonial Psalms (1952), composed for the wedding of Jewish friends; scored for unaccompanied boys’ chorus (though here sung by women), the influence of Britten’s writing for boys’ voices can be detected.

The whole enterprise has clearly been a labour of love as well as a voyage of (re-)discovery for conductor Michael Waldron, who draws well-shaped accounts from his forces. Anyone looking for unexplored choral repertoire by this British master should investigate this recording.

★★★★★