Psalm 42 (“Like as the hart desireth the water brooks, so longeth my soul after thee, O God”) has inspired composers for centuries, and is a recurring theme in Catherine Clover’s new novel, The Templar’s Garden, some of which is set in the chapel and cloister of New College, Oxford. So it is fitting that the choir of that ancient institution should record an exploration of six centuries of settings of this beautiful text, but the result is disappointingly uneven. Ockeghem to Howells via Palestrina, Tallis, Schütz, Buxtehude and Handel is a stretch on one , and two undistinguished commissions from Antony Pitts and Alexander L’Estrange add little to the mix.
