Prior to the advent of recordings, those wishing to hear the latest works had little choice but to play them themselves. One piece the curious might have picked up is Brahms’ own arrangement of his now beloved German Requiem for piano four-hands, which, with choir, served as a special opener to the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs’ 2019 season.

Simon Halsey

In his introductory speech, the distinguished British choral conductor Simon Halsey explained that he intended to emphasise the Requiem’s themes of joy and consolation, rather than suffering and death. In this compelling, stripped-back performance, joy did indeed have the final word, Halsey drawing lively, confident singing from the Philharmonia’s 120-strong Symphony Chorus. Impressive textual clarity was balanced with emotion that felt spontaneously realised, while important climaxes were attained with both control and panache. Though there were brief moments of wayward intonation from isolated sections, chorus entries were smoothly handled and there was an idiomatic way with the language that made this performance feel almost conversational and therefore even more intimate.

The soloists were every bit as good, Emma Pearson’s pure, liquid soprano doing full justice to Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit, one of...