Various (Nigel Perrin) - Pastorale (SATB & Piano)

Nigel Perrin's new volume in Boosey & Hawkes's ongoing "Concerts for Choirs" series draws together an anthology of accompanied and unaccompanied choral pieces on the subject, as the attractive cover proclaims, of "nature in all its diversity". If you were planning a theme-based summer concert, this volume would serve many of your needs.

As might be expected, British composers are well represented. Perennial favourites include the usual arrangement of Vaughn Williams's "Linden Lea" and Stanford's "The Blue Bird", as well as choral songs by Finzi and Delius. Of the latter's pieces, Perrin has chosen the first and second settings of "To be sung on a summer night on the water", which will task all but the best vocal groups. Less familiar items include two of Britten's "Five Flower Songs" and Quilter's setting of Herrick's "To daffodils".

Perhaps the recession has had an impact on the production sizeable new anthologiesm but here too there have been highlights. Pastorale, edited by Nigel Perrin in Boosey & HAwkes' conceptually based 'Concerts for Choirs' series, offers choral masterpieces celebrating nature in all its diversity and is aimed specifically at choral groups programming in the curious sub-genre of the summer concert. Its unusual collection of English standards, Delius and surprising non-English repertoire, including some delightful numbers by Kodaly, Stenhammer, Saint-Sans and massenet, was something of a revelation. Equally ambitious was the publication.