Janácek left us numerous folk-song arrangements, some 53 of which can be found his 1908 collection entitled Moravian Folk Poetry in Songs. Employing Vladimír Godár’s transcription for voice and string quartet, the Skampa Quartet team up with Iva Bittová (an artist steeped in the indigenous Moravian folk tradition, as well as a gifted fiddler, actress and composer/songwriter in her own right) to lend their distinctive slant to proceedings.

How best to describe Bittová’s voice? It has a plangent, earthy and open-throated quality that have led some to draw comparisons with Björk, allied to a spicy variety of timbre and disarming directness of expression. Sample her impish drone in ‘Gnat’s Wedding’ (track 6) or cheeky whistling at the end of the instrumental ‘Good Hunt’ (track 16). There are also winning vocal and (and occasionally spoken) contributions from the three male members of the Skampa Quartet, who play with all the skip, sensitivity and polish you could wish. Purists may baulk, but the finished article is wholly engaging in its characterful spark, playful sense of theatre and bracing, warm-hearted fervour.

I found this disc hard to resist and can see myself dipping into it for some time to come – but do sample it first, all the same. Excellent sound, too: clean and warm.