The English television program TWO THOUSAND YEARS charts relative chronologies in world history, religion, art and science as seen from the perspective of the end of the second millenium, and this two disc anthology taken from the soundtrack follows that progress in music, specifically sacred choral music ranging from the 6th century chant of the Russian Saint Romanus to the late 20th century minimalism of Henryk Gorecki.
The selection is admirably chosen and well distributed through the centuries, especially generous in the amount of earlier music included. There are a few surprises, such as the deeply affecting "Woe is me" of English renaissance composer Thomas Tomkins or the uplifting "Dawn" of current-day New Yorker Meredith Monk, as well as the moving Agnus Dei of Samuel Barber, which is a lesser-known vocal arrangement of his famous Adagio for Strings.
The performances, featuring the Choir of Trinity College, the King's Singers and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under Colin Davis, are all first rate and well-recorded.