England's choral scene is vigorous, exploring different aspects of the country's long legacy of choral music. ORA takes that as a starting point for further creativity, aiming to commission 100 new works by 100 different composers within the ten years following its appearance in the mid-2010s. ORA draws its 18 virtuoso voices from other top U.K. choirs. Unusually, it has announced that its primary focus will be on recordings and on commissioning new music, not on concertizing. It generally pairs classics of English Renaissance repertoire with contemporary works that address and reflect upon them, both musically and in terms of the larger issues that the Renaissance originals addressed. ~ James Manheim