With a quiet intake of breath, the opening notes of Vaughan Williams’ London Symphony creep into your awareness, painting a picture so clearly you can describe the colours of a morning in London at the beginning of the 20th Century. For those who love the BBC and their period dramas, this Symphony will be instantly recognisable as a world lost to us but always reachable – this work personifies what is to be English. Four movements long, it still manages to feel short, and as I finished listening I immediately went back to the beginning to see what I missed the first time through.

The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, under the baton of Andrew Manze, bring the music to life in an almost three-dimensional manner. And it’s when they move onto the Symphony No. 8 that Vaughan Williams not only proves that he can compose programmatic music, but also shows off his ability in orchestral colours and contrasts while keeping to the ideals of pure orchestral music. Meanwhile, the orchestra itself almost seems to kick into another gear, particularly in the Scherzo movement of the 8th. The tightness in ensemble over the sparkling passages is a delight to listen to.

After my second time through, I realised that the true worth of this recording is that you can listen to it twice, three times or more, and still be entranced both by what you heard the first time and the things you missed. The colour shadings through this album paint a multicoloured picture of this world, so simple, and yet complicated in its own way. An absolute delight to discover these works.

Kate Rockstrom