The Dream of Gerontius may be the unlikely star of Alan Bennett’s The Choral, but it’s hardly in need of a popularity boost: Edward Gardner’s vibrant new recording is one of three released in the last two years, with another due in January.

Recorded live at the 2022 BBC Proms, this propulsive reading has a great deal going for it. Allan Clayton captures the febrile nature of the dying man whose every sensation is both a terror and a fascination. His heroic tone thrills in the great prayer, Sanctus Fortis, while an expressive use of text illuminates the philosophical question and answer session in Part Two. Jamie Barton’s luxurious mezzo-soprano possesses a tangible immediacy as well as offering ample reserves of comfort. James Platt’s craggy bass is well-suited to the Angel of the Agony.

Gardner is intensely dramatic, conveying the narrative with an almost operatic boldness. The London Philharmonic plays as if a chorus of demons was at its heels, matched by the combined forces of the London Philharmonic and Hallé choirs. Here and there, the acoustic robs the recording of the last ounce of immediacy, but all in all it’s a fine achievement to rank alongside Nicholas Collon’s arresting Finnish account released earlier this year.