Another startlingly vivid release from Convivium features the seven-movement Requiem by the British composer Oliver Tarney (b.1984). With the title Lux stellarum (‘Light of the Stars’), this setting dates from 2019 and was composed for the Choir of the American Cathedral in Paris and its conductor Zach Ullery. The Choir of Royal Holloway College gave its Uk premiere in November 2024.

Given its intended designation we should not be too surprised by the occasional hint of the 20th-century Parisian school of organist-composers, with a nod here and there for Duruflé and his plainsong fixation. The Latin hymn Conditor alme siderum is used as just one unifying thread. Tarney constantly refreshes his musical textures with occasional solo vocal lines, contrasting with dissonant polyphony and rich parallel homophonic chords. The organ is used sparingly but always to maximum effect.

This is a rich work, imbued with poise and elegance. Is it a liturgical piece or does it only work in a concert context? The question needs to be asked since Tarney interpolates English texts beyond the Missal including Donne’s ‘Bring us, O Lord God’. The third movement is an a cappella setting of a poem ‘Stars’ by the Canadian Majorie Pickthall, a serene centre point of the work. Dramatic moments abound: the Sanctus, for example, has a tremendous drive and leads to a powerful climax.

Rupert Gough leads his 27 singers in an exemplary interpretation. The Tickell/Ruffatti organ in Keble College Chapel is put through its paces by Andrew Der, the extraordinary outburst after the ‘Amen’ of the ‘In paradisum’ rolling around Butterfield’s vast Oxford acoustic for what seems a galactic eternity. An impressive new addition to the Requiem canon, magnificently recorded.