Inner peace and how to find it have occupied the world’s great religions and schools of philosophy for millennia. Traces, a revelatory sequence of unaccompanied choral works past and present, creates a solemn space in which to contemplate and perhaps find solutions to the problem. SANSARA’s choice of repertoire, the care with which it has been assembled, and the miraculous beauty of the British vocal ensemble’s artistry hold the power to ease troubled minds. Their album’s first half, hallmarked by settings of reflective German texts, prepares the ground for Natalia Tsupryk’s A Quiet Night, bearer of hope, bringer of peace, the Ukrainian composer’s transcendent response to Russia’s invasion of her homeland; and Cecilia McDowall’s Standing as I Do Before God, a sublime setting of words of forgiveness and unconditional love.