St Peter’s Basilica in Rome is vast. Its cavernous interior made it the largest church in the world for centuries. With Michelangelo its chief architect, the building is one of Renaissance magnificence, a symbol of the riches of the Catholic church.

In his memoirs, Berlioz recorded (in typically vivid, florid fashion) his impressions of it during his stay in Rome. “These paintings, these statues, these columns, this gigantic architecture, all this is only the body of the edifice,” he wrote. “Music must be its soul; it is through music that it manifests its existence.”

He imagined that the choir must have numbered in its thousands, in order to fill the space with sound.

Historically, there may not have been a choir of thousands – but composers did find ways to make the most of the basilica’s acoustic possibilities. And from 1634, the addition of a bronze altar canopy made the space even more of a challenge, explain the illuminating booklet notes, as it meant an even greater area had to be filled with sound. In the 17th century, multiple choirs would be placed on platforms,...