One of the earliest tragedies the Jewish people had to endure was the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans in 70CE, which resulted in a respectful decree instigated by the Jews themselves that music be forbidden and, eventually, only a cappella singing allowed in synagogues (or ‘shuls’). So if perchance a Jewish Bach, Handel, Mozart or Haydn come along with a substantial portfolio of religious pieces involving an orchestra, these draconian rules would have kept them at bay. Regarding a Jewish a cappella choral tradition, as it happens the 17th-century Jewish-Italian composer Salamone Rossi, a contemporary of Monteverdi, was able to prompt a revival. But to this day Orthodox Jewish services involve voices only.

As to recordings, things are rather different. Way back when Cantor Yossele Rosenblatt (a Caruso among cantors whose substantial recorded legacy Sony Classical should refurbish and reissue), Joseph Schmidt, Jan Peerce, Richard Tucker and a handful of other great singers made records of specifically Jewish material, instruments, even orchestras, were called upon to sweeten the austerity or massage the melancholy. Numerous 20th-century composers, from Schoenberg and Bloch to Steve Reich, have written impressive concert pieces involving Jewish texts with voices and instruments but in the case of the excellent vocal ensemble Mosaic Voices, instruments are not only cast aside but rendered unnecessary because the harmonisations (largely by baritone Benjamin Till) are so skilfully done.

The ‘Letter’ of the title is from Kamilla, the great-grandmother of the group’s director Michael Etherton, to her children, a final missive written after unimaginable suffering before she was sent to Auschwitz and murdered. She didn’t even know whether her letter would reach its destination, but thanks to fate (or Divine Intervention, depending on your belief system, if you have one), it did. The programme is skilfully arranged and includes such perennials as the Yiddish classic ‘Rozhinkes mit Mandlen’ (‘Almonds and Raisins’) and ‘Adon Olam’ (‘Feed the birds’) with music by Richard and Robert Sherman, a joyful exclamation (though not always with this tune) that concludes the weekly Sabbath services.

Where instruments are lacking and a sense of rhythm beckons, Etherton has his singers imitate a plucked bass or woodwind interjections, though the effect avoids vulgarity. Other highlights are ‘Adio Querida’ (‘Farewell, my beloved’), a Sephardic text and sung in Ladino, and the one item sung in German, Till’s setting of the letter itself, moving but never mawkish. There are 18 tuneful items in all, which are varied enough to enjoy at a single sitting. Annotations are excellent (translations are provided as well as full texts), as is the sound; and if you’re wondering whether this programme is best appreciated only by Jewish listeners, it isn’t. There’s a universal message on offer here that potentially calls out to everyone, so if a cappella music is your bag, do give it a try. My guess is that you’ll love it.