This excellent CD highlights the unjustly neglected musical legacy of two of England’s most influential seventeenth-century composers: Henry and William Lawes. As Elizabeth Kenny points out in the liner notes, “history has favored the model of great artist as someone who is isolated and tortured by genius”; the successful and relatively well-adjusted Lawes brothers simply did not fit this profile.

Henry’s fame rested mainly in vocal music, secular and sacred alike, while William wrote copiously for both voices and instruments (including innovative chamber works, dances, and dramatic music). Both brothers were known for their emphasis on clarity in text setting. The appeal of this recording, therefore, lays in the ensemble’s sensitivity to the poetry that is at the foundation of this music. Furthermore, it is not only Robin Blaze and his trademark musical eloquence that makes us truly feel the poignant nuances interwoven into the tapestry of the Lawes songs. In Kenny’s hands, her instruments (lute, theorbo) speak with equal persuasiveness, creating a rich continuo texture that amplifies and extends the music’s emotional content.

It is in Sweet, stay awhile that the success of this collaboration is particularly evident. The vocalists also include Rebecca Outram and Robert MacDonald, both in excellent form. The ensemble is further complemented by William Carter (lute, guitar, theorbo) and Frances Kelly (double harp). William Lawes’ Corant features all three instrumentalists in full splendor, while the all-inclusive and climactic A Pastoral Elegie: Cease you jolly shepherds (Henry Lawes) provides a fitting close to this fine recording. ŽAK OZMO