British composer Jonathan Dove is a prolific and acclaimed artist, with numerous operas and choral and orchestral works to his credit. Given that background, it is odd that this recording is limited to this brief work, which was commissioned by the excellent Fairhaven Singers. In any case, it is an easy to enjoy work for chorus and chamber orchestra, a fully tonal composition in six sections, all settings of the love poetry of the ancient Greek poet Sappho (in English translation by Alasdair Middleton). Dove is at his best in the quieter, long-lined sections of the score, where he finds a natural, lyrical flow. There is some material that borders on pomposity (in the manner of Orff at his worst) but this is limited, and probably would not bother most fanciers of theatrically constructed modern choral music (or Orff lovers, for that matter). The performance is richly toned and beautifully paced. Peter Burwasser