Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

As a Catholic composing at the end of the16th century Palestrina was uncertain how to handle the Biblical texts found in Song Of Solomon. Celibate priests had a problem with poems that seemed to be about sexual love so they tried to read them as allegories of Christ's love for his church. Nice idea but not wholly convincing. These poems are erotic and both music and performance need to reflect this. Palestrina ended up writing some pretty tunes and missing the passion of the original. This recording (a re-issue, by the way) is well sung but too bland. It should appeal to those who like "classical chill-out" albums but is not, for me, the definitive version.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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