Hyperion's Record of the Month for October is a compelling programme of British solo cello music written over the last century. Thanks to the inspired advocacy of Steven Isserlis, this collection of greater and lesser names—from Frank Merrick to Thomas Adès via Britten and Walton—and plurality of styles is fashioned into a convincing, satisfying whole. Isserlis's authority is evident throughout, and the rarities can seldom have enjoyed such interpretative care. Our Classical Piano Concerto series reaches volume eight with accounts of four Piano Concertos by Georg Benda: models of eighteenth-century grace and equanimity revivified by the tireless Howard Shelley, who also directs the strings of the London Mozart Players.

With Missa Christ ist erstanden & other works by Jacob Regnart, Cinquecento returns to the music of this distinguished composer and employee of the Imperial Habsburg courts of Prague and Innsbruck. Regnart was praised by Lassus, a near contemporary, as 'trefflich' ('splendid'), and it's a judgement that listeners to this new album will share.

An occasional series dedicated to choice selections of our all-time favourite recordings—ones you might possibly have missed? This time: Choral music by Vierne, Widor & Dupré from Westminster Cathedral Choir (‘my obeisance goes to all artists involved with this outstanding production’—Soundscapes, Australia), Charpentier's Leçons de ténèbres, Litanies & Magnificat from Arcangelo (‘beautiful sounds, wonderfully recorded as well’—BBC Record Review), and The Complete Piano Concertos of Malcolm Williamson from Piers Lane and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra (‘an absorbing and highly entertaining experience’—International Piano). If you don’t know them already, a track from each is included on our monthly sampler which is free to download.

New from 1equalmusic this month comes Burden of Truth which features two ambitious re-imaginings of older works: Gavin Bryars revisits his 1970s cult hit Jesus' blood never failed me yet, while Antony Pitts takes a single folio from the early Tudor Eton Choirbook as the starting point for his Jesus autem transiens. The Song Company—greatly expanded (these unaccompanied works are in 32 and 25 parts respectively)—rises admirably to the challenges posed.

Recorded live in 2016, The Mozartists and conductor Ian Page present a rare performance of Il Vologeso by Niccolò Jommelli. Every bit as outlandish as the extravagant Württemberg opera house where it was first performed, the plot concerns itself with the machinations of a second-century Roman emperor, the music is startlingly forward-looking for the 1760s, and the vibrant cast assembled for this Signum album revels in it all.