That old cliché ‘less is more’ couldn’t be more apposite than for this gently melodic collection of Jewish tunes otherwise known as nigunim. Following the acoustic intimacies of their 2021 duo release Tal Yasis, Levitt and Yahalom bring an understandable reverence to these often melodically simple yet emotionally complex tunes. There is nothing embroidered here, nothing to divert us from tunes that are rich in sentiment yet rarely sentimental.

The collection tends to a similarity in mood and tempo: slow and meditative, melancholic and yearning: but this is counterpointed by the diverse musical roots at play here.

So ‘Atem Shalom’ is an Uzbeki song that proceeds with a stately grace. By contrast ‘Adon Haselichot’ is a Georgian song, but given here a Brazil-like rhythmic impetus. The solo ‘Nigun Gaaguim’ is different again with its echoes of Andalucian colour, and in its open, vulnerable spacing evokes the likes of Ralph Towner. Soul music indeed.