All of the thirteen tracks in this beautiful collection are taken from a wide variety of previously released recordings made for Telarc by the late Robert Shaw, the Dean of American choral conductors. The featured compositions include single movements from large works for chorus and orchestra (such as the Requiems of Mozart, Faure, and Durufle) as well as works for unaccompanied voices (such as the "Ave Maria" from Quattro Pezzi Sacri by Verdi.)

The recording opens with the serene sounds of Gregorian chant: six verses of the Stabat Mater dolorosa, followed by the "Fac ut ardeat" movement from the Stabat Mater by Poulenc.

Secular works featured on Elegy include Beethoven's Elegiac Song; the Schicksalslied (Song of Destiny) by Brahms; a movement from Hindemith's poignant When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd; and the "Bois muertri" from Poulenc's Un soir de neige (Night of Snow). The recording closes, fittingly, with Schoenberg's eloquent a cappella choral work, Friede auf Erden (Peace on Earth).