The Psalms of David have provided inspiration for countless generations of composers. Sung several times a day during services in the Catholic rite and at the centre of Anglican Mattins and Evensong, they express the whole gamut of human emotion, from pain and loss to rejoicing and exultation. This programme contrasts European composers, including large-scale ceremonial double-choir pieces by Tomas Luis de Victoria as well as more modest pieces by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina and Orlandus Lassus, with massive statements of emotion from the Englishman Thomas Weelkes and the Welsh Thomas Tomkins, alongside closely argued miniatures from William Byrd. From the perfection of Orlando Gibbons to the energy of Giovanni Gabrieli, these are profound musical responses to the very human emotions contained in the texts.