The Canterbury Pilgrims have taken a long time to arrive. Sir George Dyson’s biggest choral work, composed in 1930, has never until now been heard at the Three Choirs Festival – so it’s not surprising that last Wednesday’s performance was deemed important enough to be recorded for future broadcast by BBC Radio 3.

Despite problems with words (ancient cathedrals make terrible concert halls) it was in many respects an immensely enjoyable occasion. Under Martyn Brabbins’ attentive direction (no shortage of eye-contact and helpful cues with this capable conductor) a well-drilled, resplendent Festival Chorus sang with as much clarity and expressive variety as the all-enveloping acoustic allowed, especially in the unaccompanied and less heavily scored passages.

Susan Gritton, Alan Oke and Simon Bailey brought out the individuality and humour of their narrative-cum-character solo roles with great relish (Oke’s ‘Squire’ and Bailey’s ‘Monk’ and ‘Sergeant of the Law’ displayed terrific enunciation); and a Philharmonia Orchestra in fine fettle conveyed the brilliance of Dyson’s colourful orchestration with every attention to detail.

So why not unqualified praise? Agreed, there were few flaws with the presentation, but one couldn’t feel the same about the material. ‘The Canterbury Pilgrims’ is a polished, attractive and often very jolly (in a rustic, folklorist way) composition, but it’s not a masterpiece.

Dyson sets Chaucer’s text in a resolutely descriptive rather than allusive way, which some might argue is what the approach should be. There are subtleties, but the use of musical ‘effects’ and instrumental word-painting soon becomes apparent and increasingly more predictable.

Indeed, you can’t help wondering if the score was secretly conceived in operatic terms – although the absence of dramatic progression would preclude this – or even film music. The opening fanfares, rollicking japes and sentimental quieter moments are reminiscent of many a tacky historical drama. Alexander Korda would have loved it.