The Crossing is an ensemble devoted to repertoire that expands the possibilities of vocal music even as it challenges the members’ artistic abilities. The fact that this chamber choir, led by Donald Nally, always rises triumphantly to the occasion must be a liberating catalyst for the composers fortunate enough to be commissioned to write for the group.

On their newest album, The Crossing apply characteristic precision, nuance and luminescence to three works that are resonant (and relevant) beyond the compelling sounds they offer. Each of the pieces embraces a distinctive vision of the world, with subjects ranging from justice, freedom and existence to compounds that make up the geological and human world.

The three movements of Ayanna Woods’s Shift, set to her own texts, lean into musings on inequality and hope through wavering lines, floated tones, guttural gestures and proud declamations. At once touching and euphoric, with occasional electronic underpinnings to anchor the kaleidoscopic vocal writing, the piece gives The Crossing ample opportunity to share their many-splendoured grasp of vocal utterances.

George Lewis’s vibrant A Cluster of Instincts couldn’t be more different in its use of dense harmonic language and sliding lines, which catapult the text of Mei-Mei Berssenbrugge’s poem ‘Fog’. The voices travel the limits of their ranges, chatter with agitation, and switch sudden gears to capture moments of serenity.

The album’s title is drawn from Caroline Shaw’s Ochre, each of whose seven movements evokes a different compound. As in many of the composer’s works, reverence for the human voice is of paramount importance. Shaw generates magical and vivid textures and keen sense of interplay, sometimes suspending time with touches of vibraphone and bass-drum colours. Whether lifting texts by Goethe, Tennyson and older sources to another realm or using no words at all, Shaw manages to cast a series of spells, especially with a group as inspired and immersive as The Crossing on tap to illuminate her creations.