Fading

Fading might seem like an odd title for a collection of choral music that spans nine centuries, but the organizing theme is that of the fading of day: these are works (by Thomas Tallis, Nicolas Gombert, Joanna Marsh, Hildegard von Bingen and others) that were either written for the daily Office of Compline or that evoke that same early-evening feeling. Carlo Gesualdo’s gently anguished “Illumina faciem tuam” rubs shoulders with Veljo Tormis’ settings of traditional Estonian lullabies and Alonso Lobo’s “Versa est in luctum” — all sung with the Gesualdo Six’s typically sweet blend and impeccable intonation.