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James Whitbourn is a British composer (b. 1963) who writes in a fairly conservative tonal language, but whose music nonetheless sounds fresh because of a genuine melodic gift and an imaginative ear for choral and orchestral color. The Seven Heavens is the major work on this disc, taking up nearly half of the total duration. It is a musical portrait of C. S. Lewis, the British writer, scholar, and lay theologian (1898–1963). The Belfast Philharmonic (Belfast being the city of Lewis’s birth) commissioned this work from Whitbourn in 2014. In its original version the work was scored for chorus and very large orchestra. Whitbourn then received a commission from Eric A. Johnson and the organization he leads, Cor Cantiamo, to revise the score for chamber orchestra in order to facilitate more performances. Whitbourn chose to rewrite it for chorus and an ensemble of seven instruments: flute, clarinet, bassoon, horn, piano, violin, and cello. His sense of color is such that a listener not looking at the score would probably guess that a larger group of instruments is employed.The Seven Heavens follows the work of Michael Ward, C. S. Lewis scholar and author of Planet Narnia: The Seven Heavens in the Imagination of C. S. Lewis. Whitbourn has incorporated lines from The Hymns of Orpheus translated from the ancient Greek by Thomas Taylor in 1792, plus some Shakespeare, Shelley, C. S. Lewis, and other sources. A narrative written by Michael Ward is meant to be read by the listener in conjunction with the performance. All of this is clarified in the helpful booklet notes by the composer and the inclusion of the narratives behind each of the movements as well as the sung texts.The seven “heavens” are actually heavenly bodies, the Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, and the Sun. A composer dealing with this material, particularly a British composer, is almost setting himself up for unfavorable comparison with Gustav Holst’s The Planets, whatever the inspiration and settings. However, by avoiding the splashy colors and ripe late-Romantic theatricality of Holst’s work, Whitbourn has earned the right to be judged solely by his own accomplishment, which is considerable. This work is beautiful and thoroughly engaging, and it can be enjoyed on many levels. The composer mentions in his notes some of the hidden references and layers in the music (e.g., the ship’s horn on the Belfast Lough in “The Moon,” the bustle of a shipyard in “Mars,” and so on). I found more and more details on relistening, which is what one expects from good music.The seven short works that fill out the disc are also imaginative and attractive. In some cases Whitbourn has rescored them for the same forces used in The Seven Heavens. Again the composer’s program notes are helpful guides in providing context for each work. Ada, a musical portrait of Ada Lovelace, the daughter of Lord Byron, sets a part of Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, which was also the inspiration for Berlioz’s Harold in Italy. Byron left England when Ada was four months old and never saw her again. I hear a longing and bittersweet quality in the music. The Voices Stilled is a deeply moving setting of the standard Agnus Dei liturgical text and was commissioned to honor those who have been killed in war. The music’s haunting quality does not let us forget the grim reality behind the commission, which came from the Shipley Arts Festival.The two Canticles that conclude the disc were composed in 2011 in response to a commission from the Millennium Youth Choir at the Royal School of Church Music, who wanted a new setting of the Evening Canticles from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. The gospel text refers to revelations given to Mary and Simeon, to whom the two poems are attributed. Both were devout Jews, and Whitbourn created two pieces with a decided Jewish shape to their melodies, though the music is original.Cor Cantiamo is a professional 24-voice choral ensemble founded by Eric A. Johnson, Director of Choral Activities at Northern Illinois University in Dekalb, Illinois. The performances could hardly be improved upon. Diction is clear, the choral sound is very well blended, and the music-making is both musically and dramatically satisfying. The recording was made at Boutell Memorial Concert Hall, Northern Illinois University, which has produced sound that is spacious and rich but never muddy. One annoyance that I cannot resist mentioning: Nowhere is credit or identification given for the instrumental performers. This, I imagine, will be an issue only for those performers and their egos, not for the listener.In sum, this release is one of the most enjoyable collections of new choral music that I have encountered in quite some time.