Pichon's rapport with his singers results in a moment-to-moment intensity of concentration that grips throughout. Discipline and precision are paramount but without the superhuman (and, as a result, dehumanising) precision of the Bach Collegium.

This is absolutely a recording to treasure. Clarity and lightness are easy enough to achieve, but sometimes at the cost of the music sounding like skimmed milk. Not so here. Full-fat Klemperer is still there to be enjoyed, of course, and I wouldn’t want to be without performances of that era - but Pichon’s synthesis of new and old and everything in between is truly magical.

Pichon’s two soloists excel. The baritone Stéphane Degout couldn’t be more urgent or pleading, while Sabine Devieilhe’s light and bright soprano regularly touches the heart. The performance’s peak is reached in the penultimate movement conjuring up the Day of Judgment and the victorious beyond.

Pygmalion specialise in period performance of Baroque repertoire – their St Matthew Passion is terrific – and they bring the best aspects of that approach to Brahms, the textures unclogged and the tempos on the fresh side. But it is a requiem, and they do introspection, the choir unafraid to sing quietly (and the mixing keeps the orchestra in the foreground)...Raphaël Pichon is something of a musical magician.