Of all the recordings licensed from the Milken Archive, this one whetted my appetite the most. Both the Cantata of the Bitter Herbs (1938) and the rhapsodic poem Jephta, which doubles as Toch’s Fifth Symphony (1962-63), have their roots in the Exodus, but refracted through later custom or treatment: the Cantata from the eating of ‘bitter herbs’, representing ‘the pain of the Egyptian bondage’, during the Passover seder ritual, and Jephta in a plan for an opera based on Lion Feuchtwanger’s novel retelling the Biblical story set during the Hebrew conquest of Canaan.

The main attraction is undoubtedly the Cantata, though its late-Romantic, at times Straussian idiom may surprise those familiar with the symphonies or concertos. Its serious, radiant character may partly have arisen from the death of Toch’s mother in late 1937 and the themes of suffering, exile, pain and redemption suffuse the 10 movements of remarkable, beautiful tapestry of a score.

This performance, given in the Rudolfinum in Prague in 2000, catches the work’s many nuances and the ardent vocal soloists give a good account of themselves. So, too, does narrator Theodore Bikel, who avoids kitsch in his reverential but solid declamation. The Prague Philharmonic Choir are fine, though one can tell English is not their first language. Gerard Schwarz and the Czech Philharmonic provide splendid accompaniment.

It is curious that Jephta, Toch’s most elusive symphony, should be his most recorded. Schwarz’s new account is, I would hazard, just about the best version available, superior to Robert Whitney’s pioneering Louisville recording and slightly better focused than Alun Francis with the Berlin RSO. The last-named, though, has the benefit of more opulent sound, with greater presence and more depth to the acoustic image. Naxos’s booklet is fulsome with the background to both works.