The sacred-erotic poetry of the Song of Songs has attracted many musical settings over the centuries. This anthology focuses on settings from the 16th and 17th centuries, opening with Lassus and Palestrina and closing with Purcell’s My Beloved Spake. In between we are treated to settings by Schütz, Mazzochi, Tomkins and Charpentier.

We also have brief forays forwards (20th century settings by Healey Willan and William Walton) and backwards (a 15th century Quam pulchra es by Dunstable). One common factor in most of these settings is the predominance of vocal polyphony. Even in pieces which include independent instrumental contributions, or passages for solo voice and continuo, dialogues between voices remain a prominent feature.

Although Le Voix Baroques’ artistic director, Matthew White, remains among the singers here, he has invited Stephen Stubbs as guest director. The performances are notable for their sonorous beauty and musical refinement, matching the sensuality (sometimes veiled, sometimes impassioned) of their varied and captivating program. Occasionally (e.g., Schütz’s Vulnerasti), I wished for a more dramatic approach; in other cases (e.g., Mazzocchi’s Dialogo, Charpentier’s Dilecti mi), the musicians subtly yet effectively underline the music’s controlled passion and vivid dialogues.

François Filitratault’s booklet notes focus on the Song of Songs and its general reception, and say too little about the particular works performed here. There is no explanation of their choice to include an instrumental work (a Passacaille by Marais), but with such a beautifully judged performance, it would be foolish to complain. A fascinating and beguiling disc. URI GOLOMB