Tenebrae aims to create ‘an ethereal mood of contemplation’. Towards this end their concerts of medieval, Renaissance and contemporary devotional music feature candle lighting and choreographed movements designed to explore various acoustical perspectives. It’s not difficult to visualise the ambience when listening to this CD.

Tavener’s Mother and Child was commissioned by Tenebrae for this year’s Salisbury Festival and I’d say they got their money’s worth. The piece sets a poem by Brian Keeble which uses images of light and flame to symbolise love. In its development from the contemplative chant-like opening minutes, through a blazing climax augmented by organ and gong, to the final, restrained ‘Hail Mary’, Tavener demonstrates his mastery of radiance and pellucidity where most composers can only do brilliance and brightness.

The other big name here, Richard Rodney Bennett (well, quite a big name) was one of the first composers to move with understanding, facility and a minimum of fuss between ‘serious music’, jazz, film scores and ‘quality pop’. The path he helped beat is now trodden as a matter of routine. L’Estrange, one of those who followed his example, works as a jazz instrumentalist, classical chorister and composer of stage musicals. His Lullaby dresses the somewhat arcane octotonic scale in attractive and accessible melodies.

Bennett and L’Estrange successfully avoid the most common pitfall of this contemporary eclecticism, which tends to import from popular music a certain saccharine quality in harmonies and intervals. It crops up in the majority of the other pieces, but not enough to mar enjoyment. A well-balanced programme, impeccably performed.