Australian lovers of contemporary choral music will not need to be reminded of the beauty, depth and variety of Ross Edwards’ choral music. In fact, occasional works such as Dawn Mantras have achieved an enviable popularity beyond classical music circles. In that respect, Australian/American conductor and scholar William Kempster will be preaching to the converted in his excellent book A Singular Voice: the Choral Music of Ross Edwards, and the faithful will find an abundance of information that will not only increase their enjoyment of the music, but also their knowledge of the ideas and the creative processes behind it.

Kempster comes before us as a proselytiser, and is clear about the inspiration for the book and its aims. In the introduction, he writes that despite the quality of Edwards’ choral music, it is “virtually unknown outside of Australia”, and he wants to draw greater attention to what he sees as “important repertoire on the global choral stage”.

He then sets about clearly and concisely analysing salient aspects of the music, offering a chronological evaluation, which includes information for professionals and enthusiasts alike, while...