A warm welcome to this attractive and wide-raging anthology of Romantic European and Scandinavian part-songs, spanning the years 1825-1951.

Reger’s opening hymnlike ‘Nachtlied’ of 1916 glows inwardly and makes a perfect foil to Debussy’s athletically inventive Trois Chansons of 1908. The élan of the final ‘Yver, vous n’estes qu’un villain’ is breathtaking. Schubert’s ‘Flucht’, Saint-Saëns’s ‘Saltarelle’ (1885) and Brahms’s ‘Vineta’ (1860) all bounce along with a folksy deftness and contrast nicely with the two offerings from the Mendelssohns, brother and sister. ‘Lift thine eyes’ from Elijah is transposed down a major third, while Fanny’s ‘Abendlich schon rauscht der Wald’ reveals a perfect miniature evening hymn, full of yearning.

The theme of yearning is also central to an inspired Elgar triptych, masterpieces all. The full range of The King’s Singers’ artistry is literally on display in ‘Death on the Hills’, which stretches the top countertenor line to a giddy height. At the other extreme, ‘Deep in my soul’ features some glorious below-the-stave bass notes. ‘Owls’ will also leave the listener shaken and puzzled: this is Elgar on the very edge of tonality – an emotional wreck.

The Ravel Chansons are sung with tremendous verve and care, as are three contrasting songs by Hugo Alfvén. ‘Och jungfrun hon går i ringen’ is an enjoyable round dance. Better still is ‘Aftonen’ (1942) with its shimmeringly melting harmonies and vocalised horn-calls. From that same year comes Vaughan Williams’s Bunyan setting ‘Valiant-for-truth’, resonating with its wartime genesis and the river-crossing to the pealing of celestial trumpets. His Three Shakespeare Songs also never fail to astonish. With the addition of sopranos Grace Davidson and Victoria Meteyard, the ensemble expands to eight parts. The choral blend is perfect and the tempos just right, and the soundscape bears a very strong resemblance to that of the groundbreaking LP ‘Swingle II’ (RCA, 10/77), featuring the Swingle Singers – closely miked and intimate.

Finlandia (sung in English as ‘Be still, my soul’) draws the disc to a peaceful and memorable conclusion: ‘All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.’