The growing genius of a titan of English music comes vividly into focus in a stunning collection of Edward Elgar’s music for chorus and orchestra from the Brighton Festival Chorus and BBC Concert Orchestra conducted by Barry Wordsworth. The voice was at the centre of Elgar’s musical life as a child – his sister recalled family evenings when ‘[we] sang and sang for the very joy of singing’ – and it was to play a defining role in his own compositions. Spanning 26 years – from the imposing setting of Ecce sacerdos magnus (‘Behold the great priest’)* in 1888 to the richly realised psalm settings of the 1910s, it is possible to chart in these often moving, occasionally monumental works the development of Elgar’s prowess in setting the voice. Behold the Great Priest presents a treasure-trove of Elgar’s choral compositions intriguingly mapping out his development towards the full-scale masterpieces of Sea Pictures, The Apostles and The Dream of Gerontius. Illuminating, newly commissioned notes are provided by Andrew Neill, chairman of the Elgar Society from 1992-2008. *A rarity on disc, Ecce sacerdos magnus shares its opening notes with the Benedictus from Joseph Haydn’s Harmoniemesse, a 1949 recording an excerpt of which – featuring the Munich Cathedral Choir and Orchestra conducted by Ludwig Berberich – is included demonstrating striking similarities between the two.