Another in Naxos' choral music compilation series subtitled "Classical Music for Reflection and Meditation", this one features works based either on the psalm text Miserere ("Have mercy. . .") or on a similar theme. The "big number" here is the justly famous but technically challenging Miserere setting by 17th-century Italian composer Gregorio Allegri. The brisk pace and energetic singing by the Oxford Camerata keeps everything tightly together (one of the work's greatest difficulties) but at the expense of sounding just a bit frenetic. The ensemble sound is solid and well-balanced, and the soprano soloist dispatches those high Cs with clear, ringing confidence. Le Concert Spirituel offers similarly lively and authoritative performances of two works by Lully--a Miserere and a section of his Te Deum--and Charpentier's Litanies à la Vierge. A Miserere by Orazio Benevolo and Jean Mouton's Adjutorium nostrum deserve special mention. You have to wonder why works as beautiful as these are so little known. As you might expect from a program compiled from various recordings--different performers and venues--the sonic perspective and ambience varies from selection to selection. But it's only slight and certainly not enough to be distracting. If you're particularly interested in the Allegri, go for the Tallis Scholars performance on Gimell. But if you just want a pleasing, well-performed collection of some fine sacred choral music, this budget-priced set will do very nicely.

--David Vernier