Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

It is interesting to speculate about whether things would have happened as they did even if the political situation had been different. Under the Protestant Tudor monarchs there was a flowering of music written to be sung in English during private (and thus "secular" with its original meaning of "not in church") devotions in the home. The Catholic Mary Tudor did not encourage this practice but her sister Elizabeth disagreed. Would this music have been written regardless of who was on the throne? The invention of printing, the spread of literacy, and the rise of a comfortable middle class with leisure time and the means to buy musical instruments for the home may have been sufficient for these changes to happen regardless. We cannot know so let us turn to the music on this lovely CD. Stile Antico (and we won't patronise you by translating the name) is a prize winning ensemble of young British vocalists specialising in Tudor and early Baroque music. Here they dig into the repertoire of composers such as Tomkins, Campion, Byrd, Tallis, Dowland and Gibbons and readers who recognise some of these names will need little encouragement to investigate further. On several songs Stile Antico are joined by the lute consort Fretwork. Personally I prefer the acappella pieces but if one has to add an instrument then lutes are appropriate and Fretwork are the best there is. Some of the pieces are well known: Campion's "Never Weather-Beaten Sail" is still performed regularly by choirs; other pieces are by well-known composers but have not been established in the canon: Byrd's "Why Do I Use My Paper, Ink And Pen" being one example. The tunes are deceptively simple and always melodious, the lyrics may be antique in style but are still understandable and often worth pondering, and the overall impression is very good indeed.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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