Birmingham, in England’s Midlands, is a fine a musical hub, home to both a respected university music department and a music conservatory; not to mention, of course, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Now it is the home to The Elgar Scholars, a professional chamber choir. This is their debut release, which includes music from two Birmingham (“Brummie,” colloquially) composers, Laura Mvula and Millicent B. James.

It is always good to see the name of Bob Chilcott, an expert in his field. His “Even Such is Time” is the final movement (of four) of a piece entitled just that. It has enjoyed quite some popularity: The King’s Singers has recorded it at least twice. The Convivium recording is more intimate than the rather spotlit King’s Singers, resulting in a more typically English church sonority. The solo soprano at the end, Alice Martin, is so pure she could be a boy treble, completing the illusion of a piece set in a space of worship. The companion Chilcott piece, heard later in the program, is the hymnic “Gratitude” from The Song of Harvest.

Michael Zev Gordon’s And I Will Betroth You was first performed at Schola Cantorum, Oxford. Scored for unaccompanied SATB choir, its tight-knit harmonies are brilliantly rendered here, as is the sheer breadth of expression held within a mere five minutes. While that piece might not be familiar, Elgar’s “Nimrod” in its choral guise as Lux Aeterna will surely be. The Elgar Scholars give a performance of both beauty and, importantly, transparency. The phrasing in the later stages is most impressive, too, breaking the narrative up so the climax can shine.

Ironically given the label name, there is an alternative for Jonathan Dove’s In Beauty May I Walk (1998) performed by the Convivium Singers on Naxos and Neil Ferris from 2011. Dove offers a truly beautiful, intelligent piece, and honoring Dove’s magnificently varied textures is key. The performance here by The Elgar Scholars feels as if it cannot be bettered; that Naxos is lovely, but the recording is a bit too upholstered, which evens everything out too much. Over on Hyperion, the Wells Cathedral Choir under Matthew Owens feels the weakest of the three, a sense of rote creeping in for the repetitions. It is taken in a full cathedral acoustic, though; but it is the new Elgar Scholars performance that now has my vote.

The titular track is short but touching: Millicent B. James’ Finding Your Home. It also contains some demanding moments for sopranos, expertly handled here. The barber-shop moments, complete with clicking of fingers, are most appealing. It sits in contrast to Judith Weir’s 1984, mainly homophonic, Drop Down Ye Heavens, From Above. Sopranos are once more radiant, above perfectly tuned ATB. The Elgar Scholars offer a gloriously outward-looking reading; another complement, this time to my favorite, more inward-looking reading from Andrew Nethsingha and the Choir of St. John’s College, Cambridge. If you fancy a more mobile reading, try ORA Singes and Suzi Digby on Harmonia Mundi.

Finally, Sing to the Moon, a lovely piece of storytelling featuring a high soprano soloist in Evelyn Byford. It is the perfect close to this short album.

Recommended: the programming is carefully considered, the performances superbly disciplined, the recording excellent.