…Kirkby highlights the poetry of the texts through her crisp diction and sincerity. The dynamic range of Fretwork is stunning, its tone vibrantly rich and its careful paragraphing and sensitive response to the lyrics bringing these songs to life. The venue's acoustic, excellently recorded, enhances the warmth and blood of the ensemble.

Byrd's consort songs reveal a homelier, more personal aspect than his sterner sacred music.
Many have texts reflecting the earlier part of his life, the reign of Edward VI, a time of moralising peity: He that all earthly pleasurescorns would be an obvious example, or Contentis rich. But that particular song becomes fast and witty in this performance, almost tonguein- cheek: it's as if the singer has joining the viols and uses a vocal technique to match their bowing.
Emma Kirkby's versatile performance brings these delightful items to life, and Fretwork fill out the texture with sensitive imitative polyphony.
Sometimes the soprano's almost-tooperfect clarity of articulation tends to obscure the subtlety of the musical phrasing: Byrd makes a point of measuring the English text with extreme care, and the gentle cross-rhythms he creates are essential, adding to the life and flow of the composition.
The well-chosen programme is interspersed with five instrumental pieces, three Fantasias for viols, and a delightful pairing and sharing Pavan and Galliard. Fretwork excel here with their vibrant rhythms and gorgeous interplay of parts.

The golden viols of Fretwork effortlessly weave around [Kirkby's] voice, and their own instrumental items take
us to polyphonic heaven. A near perfect disc