Ancient and Modern

Ancient & Modern lives up to its title. She takes the Bach prelude "Coventry Carol" and Tallis's "Canon" and arranges them for orchestra and a choir called the Sixteen. Although these recordings should rightly be called adaptations and arrangements, Dudley takes writing credits for all the album's music, including venerable hymns like "Veni Emmanuel."

The album is at its best when Dudley shows her contemporary influences, as on "Canticles of the Sun and Moon." The song is based around the hymn "From All Who Dwell Beneath the Sky," but Dudley gives it a minimalist turn with cyclical marimba lines. She performs a similar fete with "Veni Emmanuel," building an unlikely tension and dynamic explosiveness in this usually sedate hymn. --John Diliberto