On track: Balance of head and heart

It's difficult to avoid Robert King and his King's Consort when it comes to Renaissance and Baroque repertoire, and, despite his busy concert schedule, this Englishman doesn't spend all his time in the choir stalls. Keen eyes may have noticed him in the interminable credits for The Da Vinci Code, listed as "choir contractor".

King's latest instalment of Monteverdi's choral music offers the much-recorded Vespers in its 1610 edition - a sumptuous two-CD package, including two settings of the Magnificat and the shorter Missa in illo tempore.

There are many performance options with the Vespers, but King has always maintained a balance between heart and head. A few years back, he banned the word "authentic"; while allowing for "scholarly input", he was all for "doing what sounds natural".

And what magnificent musical vistas he opens up in the 70 minutes of the Vespers, starting with the same muscle-flexing flourish that launches Monteverdi's opera Orfeo. This is music that is 400 years young. Double choir effects in "Nisi Dominus" would easily slip into a Philip Glass score; the sauntering syncopations of "Lauda Jerusalem" are irresistible.

An inspirational work and performance have been captured by Hyperion in King's favourite venue, Hampstead's St-Jude-on-the-Hill. It's a wise choice; Edwin Lutyens' modest church is able to acknowledge the Venetian grandeur of Monteverdi without sacrificing clarity of texture.

The strings, cornetts and sackbuts of the band can frolic and dance in the "Sonata sopra Sancta Maria" to their hearts' content and the listener's delight.

Soloists are familiar and reliable. Tenor James Gilchrist's "Nigra sum" negotiates a fine, expressive line between fervour and restraint while sopranos Carolyn Sampson and Rebecca Outram are memorable, especially in the languid "Pulchra es". The women also impress in both Magnificat settings on the second CD.

The composer's Missa in illo tempore is a notably less flamboyant work than the Vespers - its virtuosity is concealed in its contrapuntal intricacies. Perhaps this is the heart and soul of the collection and, with a minimal accompaniment, King's choristers unfold a rare, unruffled beauty.

* Claudio Monteverdi, Vespers. The Complete 1610 Publication (Hyperion CDA 67531/2, through Ode Records)