Seiber was born in Budapest and was a pupil of Kodály. He became a professor of composition in Frankfurt, but escaped Nazism to England in 1935. He taught composition at Morley College.

This collection of unaccompanied songs includes Yugoslav Folk Songs, Missa Brevis, Two Madrigals and Three Nonsense Songs. The CD also includes three pieces by other composers with a personal connection to Seiber: Erich Itor Kahn (Seiber's close friend), Alan Gibbs (Seiber's pupil, who composed the Gloria in excelsis in Seiber's memory) and Zoltán Kodály (Seiber's teacher, who wrote Media Vita in morte sumus for his memorial concert).