The composer known as Jakob Handl or Gallus was of Slovenian origin – hence the high production values (partly subsidised by the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts) lavished upon this three­CD box set. He spent the last five years of his short life in the Imperial capital‚ Prague‚ dying there in 1591. Those years saw the publication of much of his substantial output‚ very little of which has found its way onto disc. The two complete publications presented here‚ Harmonia morales and Moralia (the latter posthumous) were probably conceived together as a group of 100 short‚ secular compositions. The texts consist for the most part of brief Latin tags or proverbs‚ some of them popular in origin‚ others drawn from a range of classical authors: principally Ovid‚ but also Virgil‚ Martial and even Catullus (these last two on their best behaviour). There is in all this a certain moralising bent‚ but the tone is seldom pedantic. At his best‚ Gallus’s flair for texts is as quirkily personal as Lassus’s; and where the texts call for illustration (a fair number of animals make an appearance)‚ his response often has a charm and wit that the elder composer would not have disavowed. Based in Regensburg‚ the ensemble Singer Pur has a warmth and purity of tone reminiscent of the better Dutch ensembles‚ and a freshness of approach that keeps the listener (or this listener‚ anyway) alert and responsive throughout. Their characterisation of moods is effectively varied without being showy‚ and they carry off their part in this project very impressively: one hopes to hear them in more substantial repertory‚ some of Gallus’s Masses‚ for instance. ‘Their part in this project’‚ I write‚ because the three CDs are accompanied by a 500­page ‘booklet’ that presents translations of the texts‚ and four scholarly essays‚ in four languages. It is beautifully produced‚ from the sturdy binding down to the choice of typefaces; but the essays are of limited use‚ and milk the meagre information on the composer’s biography to the point of tedium (including pages of inconclusive speculation as to his patronymic). Non­specialists‚ I suspect‚ will quickly give up. One last word: these publications were never designed to be performed one piece after another; nor‚ really‚ should they be listened to that way (many last under a minute). This is not a recital as such‚ but an anthology. Buyers who bear this in mind will not be disappointed‚ but richly rewarded. If only more recordings of this sort were made‚ and as lovingly produced.