SOMM Recordings has had the good fortune to add to its wide-ranging catalogue the “extraordinary voices” (BBC Radio 3) of the all-female a cappella vocal quintet Papagena these past few years. Formed in 2015, the ensemble is made up of sopranos: Elizabeth Drury, Imogen Ram-Prasad, and Suzzie Vango; mezzo: Shivani Rattan; and alto: Sarah Tenant-Flowers. What distinguishes Papagena is their gloriously adventurous programming, which defies pigeonholing: medieval, classical, folk, and contemporary music from around the world, juxtaposed with repertoire from Hildegard of Bingen to Katy Perry and all points in between.

Papagena’s debut album, Nuns and Roses, was self-released in 2017. Their second, The Darkest Midnight, was released in 2018 by SOMM. Selected as MusicWeb International’s Recording of the Month, it reached No.6 in the classical charts and No.1 in Amazon’s classical download chart. In 2020, Papagena’s second release with SOMM was Hush!, a Recommended Recording by MusicWeb International, which was praised by John Quinn as “another winner from Papagena. More, please!” SOMM is happy to oblige.

SOMM’s third collaboration with Papagena is Tomorrow is Today: Songs of love, beauty and the passing of time. As an example of the unique diversity of their programming, this new collection opens with a set of four songs that are united by ideas of love in various guises. The Gallant Weaver with words by Robert Burns tells of the sincere love of a humble girl for her weaver. Sì ch’io vorrei morire (Yes, I should wish to die), a madrigal by Claudio Monteverdi, deals with passionate sexual attraction. Oy khodyt son (Oh, sleep is coming) is a traditional Ukrainian melody about love within a family unit. Kaval sviri (The Flute is Playing) is a traditional Bulgarian song of coquettish flirtation.

A sampling of other highlights from this release includes Henry Purcell’s Music for a while from his incidental music for John Dryden and Nathaniel Lee’s 1692 play Oedipus. Holi, in a setting by Papagena’s mezzo-soprano Shivani Rattan, is an Indian celebration song. The motet, Sicut lilium, is attributed to Leonora d’Este, a daughter of Lucrezia Borgia. From a collection of the earliest surviving examples of polyphonic music written in English, is the carol, Ther is no rose. The title song Tomorrow is Today, commissioned by Papagena from Janet Wheeler with a text by the composer’s daughter Sarah Cattley, is subtitled Dawn Chorus, and is filled with bird references reflecting the ensemble’s name of the bird-catcher’s wife in Mozart’s Magic Flute.

Dolce cantavi, written in the style of an Italian madrigal by American Caroline Shaw, also contains allusions of birdsong, natural beauty, and the dawning hope of love; while in Welcome somer, the Canadian composer Don Macdonald partners Chaucer’s text with music that references medieval rhythms within a more contemporary harmonic idiom.