Don’t be betrayed by the beguiling New Age gentility of Mist Waves into thinking its composer, American-Australian Douglas Knehans, is cut from the same cloth as the Holy Minimalists it readily evokes. His robustly imagistic Fourth Symphony, Cloud Ossuary, puts paid to such lazy, fanciful notions.

Douglas Knehans

Both works date from 2019, and both are influenced by cloud formations, making the disc immediately appealing to musically inclined nephologists. Both also receive first performances on disc here in sensitive, committed performances by the Brno Philharmonic under the meticulous but lightly worn guidance of Mikel Toms.

There is no denying (or refusing) the hypnotic thrall of Mist Waves, described by the composer as “a kind of loose chaconne whose veiled repetition of the initial eight bars forms the basis of the [eight-minute] work”. Originally composed for violin and piano, its discrete debt to Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending is beautifully articulated by orchestra leader Pavel Wallinger’s singing violin, the serene, slow-moving accompaniment a thing of cosseting beauty.

The three-movement Symphony No...