They have loved and loathed each other in song many times over the decades, so it was only natural that the McGarrigles and Wainwrights should choose music as a place to grieve as well.

Kate McGarrigle, sister of her musical partner Anna, mother to contemporary singing stars Rufus and Martha Wainwright, fell to cancer in January, not long after the family gathered for a Christmas performance at the Albert Hall. Here they massed again, with their matriarch missing but stars such as Nick Cave, Emmylou Harris, Neil Tennant and Meltdown curator Richard Thompson swelling the numbers. There were tears, hugs and a wealth of glorious music.

As with many McGarrigle shows past, there was a shambolic air to the comings and goings on stage. Anna wandered around in search of an accordion. Rufus stopped Come a Long Way halfway through, deciding it should be slower.

But there was less humour, more emotion in the hiccups. Martha proved unable to carry on leading a stunning group performance of Proserpina, the last song Kate wrote before her death. Rufus had his own breakdown during a solo piano take on Walking Song, with its line: “We’ll talk blood and how we were bred/Talk about the folks both living and dead.”

There was joy, however, in the breadth of fine songwriting on display. Kiss and Say Goodbye had a propulsive boogie. Martha delivered the obscurity I am a Diamond as a showtune. The Work Song was a country number, Travellin’ on for Jesus a gospel spiritual. Even ex-husband Loudon Wainwright III got a look-in with Thompson’s cover of his sweetly lilting Swimming Song.

Some newcomers to “the clan”, as Rufus called it, held their own too. Lisa Hannigan’s take on Tell my Sister was hushed and lovely. The extraordinary Krystle Warren completely inhabited I Don’t Know. Nothing dragged, nobody was there to make up the numbers.

As Anna McGarrigle sat with her son and daughter Sylvan and Lily Lanken, she said: “There’s a great consolation in having children, because when your sister’s not around they can sing with you.” The next generation honoured their parents beautifully here. Kate McGarrigle’s torch could not be carried any better.