CD: London Madrigal Singers/London Baccholian Singers: Vaughan Williams and Holst: Choral Folksong Arrangements

It was purely by chance -- or was it? -- that I sat down to write this entry on the 50th anniversary of the death of Ralph Vaughan Williams.

And it's also sheer coincidence that the disc packaging features the image of a decidedly relaxed-looking flock of sheep.

But it was a deliberate decision that brought me to this week's topic -- aided and abetted, I would think, by a surfeit of caffeine and the prospect of late nights spent covering the two conventions. I need these choral works.

Besides, it's the season for the Proms as well, a good time to celebrate British composers. And in addition, between the closing of the Olympics and the opening of the final stretch of campaign season, we're bound to be a bit twitchy.

So put down the remote. Back away from the TV. Stop yelling at the pundits. Turn off the cell phone. Opt for something serene, meditative, merry, or even haunting.

It all starts here, with a pair of composers from the U.K.

Most of you know Ralph Vaughan Williams, of course, at the very least via classical stations' frequent airplay of The Lark Ascending, or perhaps Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis. His friend Gustav Holst too requires no introduction, given the popularity of St. Paul's Suite and of course The Planets.

This time out, however, the orchestra is left behind and the human voice takes over. These choral arrangements, chiefly of traditional British folksongs, feature an exquisite layering of of vocal parts, with particular emphasis on the males' contribution. If the sound isn't quite as dense as what we are used to with, for example, Renaissance ensembles, the effect is still utterly captivating.

Two adult vocal ensembles, the London Madrigal Singers and the London Baccholian Singers, provide these rich and sensitive performances, and if some of the songs are known throughout the English-speaking world -- "Loch Lomond," for instance, and "The Wassail Song" -- there's nothing mannered or hackneyed about the readings.

I'd note too that some of the material, though perhaps less familiar in the U.S., is utterly lovely. Two tunes in particular come to mind, "Just as the Tide Was Flowing" and "The Dark Eyed Sailor," both in exquisite arrangements. Listen to either and you can expect to fall in love.

But it's not all rollicking drinking songs and haunting tales of lovers parted and then reunited (and sometimes not the way you expect). The album also features several thematically distinctive selections from Holst's Eight Canons for Equal Voices, plus one from Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda (!).