Land of Dreams

‘Christe qui lux es et dies’ provide a framework for this sequence of 21st-century a cappella works on the theme of sleep and dreaming, inspired by the ‘Dreamtime’ of Australia’s indigenous peoples and their belief in ‘songlines’ that connect sacred places across their vast land. Christopher Watson brought his Australian choir to St John the Evangelist Church, Oxford, for the recording, and his accomplished young singers respond magnificently to its spacious acoustics and their conductor’s unfussy direction. Everything is beautifully balanced, tuned and articulated. The centrepiece is Mass of the Dreaming by Ross Edwards, intentionally Australian in its idiom; the CD also includes works by David Bednall, Daniel Brinsmead, Daniel Riley, Eriks Ešenvalds and Alice Chance. I loved it all. (Clare Stevens)