Judging from the stern-looking faces on the disc’s cover you’d figure that the music performed by gambists Hille Perl and Friederike Heumann must be made of somber stuff–and you’d be right. The works–and it must be said, the playing styles–are indeed serious, without a light heart or spirit in sight. Of course, that is the intended nature of these 17th-century English pieces, written in a manner known as “lyra viol”, which referred to particular ways of playing harmony, plucking the strings, scordatura tuning, and bowing articulation. These very experienced players know the style well and certainly give full measure to the heaving, sighing melancholy of works such as the Pavanes by Thomas Ford, Alfonso Ferrabosco, and William Lawes. As promised, the sound is very realistic, with a pleasingly natural resonance that fills the room without assaulting your ears. There’s nothing surprising or especially noteworthy here–just solid musicianship and expert interpretations of specialist repertoire. If this is your thing, you know it, and you’ll like it.
