It is difficult for modern ears to appreciate the seismic effect the Sturm und Drang works of the 1760s to 1780s must have had on audiences, but this fourth of a projected seven-volume survey of the period by Ian Page and the Mozartists gives us some idea. It features symphonies by Joseph Martin Kraus and Haydn, opera arias by Mozart and Tommaso Traetta, and the climactic scene from Jiří Benda’s melodrama Medea, hailed by Mozart as the future of opera.

Kraus’s Symphony in C minor, which opens this thrilling 75-minute collection, is described by Artistic Director and conductor Page as perhaps the finest 18th-century symphony not written by Haydn or Mozart. It was dedicated to Haydn who treasured his copy of it, and it bears all the hallmarks of Papa Joe.

Spanish-born British soprano Alexandra Lowe runs the gamut with her contributions – meltingly vulnerable as the Neapolitan Traetta’s Antigona lamenting her plight and spitting blood as the jealous Arminda in Vorrei punirti, indegno from Mozart’s teenage opera La finta giardiniera. And she pins you back in your seat in the pivotal spoken scene from Czech composer Benda’s melodrama Medea complete with thunder sheets. This superbly performed and produced album ends – how could it not? – with Haydn and his 45th symphony, Farewell.

Page’s Sturm und Drang series is part of Page’s overarching MOZART 250 project which between 2015 and 2041 is exploring the chronological trajectory of Mozart’s life, works and influences. So, plenty to look forward to.

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Title: Sturm und Drang Volume 4
Works: Music by Haydn, Mozart et al.
Performers: Alexandra Lowe s, The Mozartists/Ian Page
Label: Signum Records LC15723