‘Time after time,’ says Eric Whitacre in his introductory note, he was conducting the recording sessions for this album with tears in his eyes, quietly saying to himself, ‘This is how I always dreamed it would sound.’ Exquisite performances of four short pieces, including Whitacre's first ever choral composition, Go, lovely rose, and his beautiful Sing Gently, written for his sixth Virtual Choir during lockdown, precede an immaculate, at times virtuosic performance of his poignant cantata The Sacred Veil. Telling the story of the love affair between Whitacre's friend and frequent librettist Charles Anthony Silvestri, and his wife Julia Lawrence, which ends tragically with her death from cancer leaving Silvestri and their two small children heartbroken, this intense, beautifully crafted and very personal piece speaks eloquently to young adults of today. VOCES8, cellist Emma Denton and pianist Christopher Glynn have done it proud.

VOCES8, Emma Denton (vc), Christopher Glynn (pno) / Eric Whitacre (dir) Decca 485 3970 [72:53] ★★★★★