Tales of composers whose religious faith was seemingly at odds with the prevailing political establishment are dotted through musical history: Byrd and Tallis immediately spring to mind. The life and music of soviet composer, Georgy Sviridov (1915-1998) presents almost the opposite situation. By the time Sviridov reached his forties he had become constantly lauded by the authorities. According to one source he was awarded the Order of Lenin four times, he was hailed as a “people’s artist” and then a “hero of Soviet Labour”, then reaching the dizzying heights of first secretary of the Soviet Union of Composers.

Yet here is no cardboard cut-out of a composer. His...