Vaughan Williams’ First Symphony is a vast tapestry, setting Walt Whitman poetry about the sea. It was written between 1903 and 1909, two years of which the composer spent studying orchestration in Paris with Ravel. It incorporates French colour into the grand 19th-century English choral tradition, adding a hint of British folksong in the form of hornpipes and modal melodies.

Andrew Manze’s new recording has all the positive attributes of its predecessors: clarity and careful balancing of orchestral forces, beautiful solo playing and clean recording. Listen to how lovingly he shapes the symphony’s coda. Similar melting moments occur in the slow movement, while the Scherzo has plenty of pep. But is this enough? One essential this...