Out of Dawn’s Mind is a setting, by Edmund Finnis, of five poems by Alice Oswald. It’s scored for soprano (here Ruby Hughes) and string orchestra (here the 17 strong The Manchester Collective; dir: Rakhi Singh). The poems deal with light, water, time and the experience of coming into contact with the world. The feeling is intimate and meditative. The vocal line is high but quite relaxed in tempo. The accompaniment is elegiac with brooding and shimmering patches. It’s rather beautiful but not at all dramatic.

It’s a digital only release available as lossless 44.1kHz/16bit and 48kHz/24 bit plus Dolby ATMOS. I listened to the standard resolution version and it’s fine. Voice and instruments are well captured and naturally balanced. There’s a digital booklet with the poem texts.

Catalogue information: Pentatone PTC5187584