Settings of the Stabat mater are rarer than for most other common sacred Latin texts, though the examples of Dvořák, Howells, Pergolesi and Poulenc have stood the test of time. Now Clive Osgood (b1977) has recorded his 2009 Stabat mater, a 10-movement work lasting just over half an hour. His style is attractive and accessible, displaying a lucid ear for melody and a strong harmonic grasp, bathed in sumptuous string orchestra accompaniment with the composer himself at the piano. Think of Karl Jenkins’s capacity for earworms, combined with the delicacy of Fauré and the harmonic palette of Rutter. Jack Liebeck’s solo violin contribution to the ‘Quam tristis’ is particularly haunting, the perfect match for Grace Davidson’s spotless soprano solo. The other soloists fare less well: in the duet ‘Virgo virginum’, baritone Julian Empett and tenor Mark Wilde sound under some vocal strain, with unfocused vibrato in their lower-pitched phrases. However, Rupert Gough steers his excellent Royal Holloway singers and the London Mozart Players with ease and obvious enjoyment. Convivium’s recording is first-rate.