There are all sorts of reasons why a recording might be “unreleased”, but in the case of the great, and sorely missed Jessye Norman, the music collected here simply didn’t pass the artist’s personal sniff test. But was she right? And are Decca, with the support of Norman’s family and estate, right to let it be heard now? The answer is a resounding yes, with a tiny qualification or two, of which more later.

Born in Georgia in 1945 – and at a time when segregation and racial prejudice was common – Jessye Norman became one of the most celebrated opera singers and recitalists of her day, indeed, of any day. The voice changed over the years. It darkened, matured, shifted in tessitura, yet for most of her recording career it was glorious, even voluptuous. Her way with words was compelling, her diction exemplary, even in the most strenuous music – no mean feat for as substantial an instrument as hers. It’s fair to say, no other living artist I have encountered had the power to hold an audience in the palm of one hand quite...