Usually, I’m not fond of sweeping surveys of musical periods, but this one is careful to let us know its intentions up front: it’s not a comprehensive representation of styles, forms, and composers, but just a sampling of secular music from Tudor England, the kinds of things ordinary people might have heard, played, or sung. The 28 tracks include madrigals, lute songs, and instrumental consort music, and feature a wide variety of period instruments–mostly winds and plucked strings. There are a few familiar names among the performers, and many well-known composers and works on the generously filled program. Morley’s “Sing we and chant it” and “April is in my mistress’ face”, Gibbons’ “The Silver Swan” (instrumental and vocal versions), numerous Dowland songs and instrumental works (“Fortune my foe” and “Lachrimae Pavane”, among others), Weelkes’ “Hark, all ye lovely saints above”, and several anonymous pieces, including “All in a garden green” give you an idea of the types of music you’ll hear. The performances are decent, although most of the selections have been done better on a host of other recordings by groups such as the Hilliard Ensemble, Julian Bream Consort, Paul O’Dette, the New London Consort, and the King’s Singers. But, to get this mix of solo, ensemble, and instrumental pieces, especially containing so many of the more popular ones, you’d have a difficult search. I must admit that one of the selections–Hassler’s “Ach Weh Des Leiden”, an intense and beautiful little madrigal that isn’t even mentioned in the liner notes–will keep me coming back. The sound, from Herefordshire, England’s Leominster Priory, is quite reverberant, a little too much for this music.
