Album: Paul Hillier, Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir Baltic Runes (Harmonia Mundi)

The "runes" on this excellent album of choral works range from the rustic chants of Cyrillus Kreek to the religious pieces of Veljo Tormis and Sibelius's "Rakastava", where the lilting, rhythmic interplay of voices slips into soft languor once the union is consummated.

The most striking piece is Erik Bergman's "Lapponia", in which the use of wordless phonemes is aptly elemental, with deep lowing beneath scattered snow showers of excited syllables, and a breeze of haunting sussurus which recalls Ligeti.

Download this: Lapponia; Rakastava; Laulusild