Much admired in his youth by ­Szymanowski, and a contemporary at the Warsaw Conservatory of Lutoslawski, Roman Maciejewski (1910-1998) is claimed by some as the forgotten genius of 20th-century Polish music, with his huge Requiem, on which he spent 14 years, as his masterpiece.

It could be that Maciejewski's ­Requiem has not been heard in Britain until now because of the daunting scale of the forces it requires – with soloists, chorus and a vast orchestra, the list stretches to nearly 300 performers. But as this performance – conducted by Michał Dworzy´ nski with the BBC ­Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, and soloists Iwona Hossa, Agnieszka Rehlis, Aleš Briscein and Tomasz Konieczny – went on, and on, for 110 minutes, it became obvious that the reason for the work's neglect is simply that it is not a good piece, never musically distinguished or ­emotionally involving.

The requiem is dedicated to "those who died in wars of all times" and there's no doubt that the outbreak of war in Europe in 1939 had a traumatic effect on Maciejewski, condemning him for more than 20 years to a nomadic life in Europe and the US, and ­changing his musical outlook for ever. He designed the requiem as a broadly accessible work, but its approachability is achieved at the cost of individuality – there are long, meandering stretches of anonymous choral writing, and borrowings from Verdi, Stravinsky, Orff and even ­Hollywood film music. It's a patchwork, fatally lacking the sense of necessity that impelled ­Maciejewski to compose it.

To be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on March 2.