Nowadays, the Italian repertory of fifteenth-century secular music is better known through the reworkings of visiting foreigners like Isaac and Josquin than by the home-grown article. This recording introduces some of those native idioms and composers: the famous Scaramella tune made famous by Compere and Josquin (assuming that setting is his) appears in its original, monophonic guise; elsewhere, two songs by the frottolist Marchetto Cara set the tone. As with Italian music of later periods, polyphonic textures are deliberately played down to allow for the maximum projection and embellishment of the principal line. A number of non-vocal pieces attest to the preoccupation with instrumental virtuosity, represented by such figures as the lutenist Serafino. Sirinu have been active on the concert circuit for a number of years, but this disc marks their debut as recording artists. The programme is varied, the choice of instrumental combinations judicious and spirited, and the performers’ lightness of touch rests as easily on the ear as the music itself. Lightness is indeed the chief attribute of Sara Stowe’s singing, shown to best effect in pieces like Non e tempo d’aspectare, Scopri, lingua or the possibly scurrilous piece de resistance, Villana.

Lutenist, singer and composer Henry VIII and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, presided for a short while over one of the most cultivated European courts. Sirinu, with imaginative deployment of instrumental colour, performs the songs, consort music and arrangements attributed to Henry Tudor, including the well-known ‘Pastyme with good companye’. A fascinating disc.

Reissue of At The Royal Albert Hall Part 2 with tracks in different order. Renaissance are an English progressive rock band, best known for their 1978 UK top 10 hit "Northern Lights" and progressive rock classics like "Carpet of the Sun", "Mother Russia", and "Ashes Are Burning". They developed a unique sound, combining a female lead vocal with a fusion of classical, folk, rock, and jazz influences. Characteristic elements of the Renaissance sound are Annie Haslam's wide vocal range, prominent piano accompaniment, orchestral arrangements, vocal harmonies, acoustic guitar, bass guitar, synthesiser, and versatile drum work. The band created a significant following in the northeast United States in the 1970s, and that region remains their strongest fan base.

This CD is a most satisfying listening experience, despite a few shortcomings in the packaging. Released under the auspices of Annie Haslam at a time when Renaissance had splintered in several different directions (with even Jane Relf reportedly getting ready to start using the group name again), it's assembled from what appear to be several live performances – the notes by Haslam would lead one to believe that these date from the late '70s, and the lineup of Haslam, Michael Dunford, John Tout, Jon Camp, and Terry Sullivan. But as there are no dates or actual credits, that's impossible to say with 100-percent certainty – what is true beyond doubt is that the sound is excellent (almost too good for a '70s-vintage concert recording) and the performances are superb from beginning to end; not only is the band tight and loud, but Haslam is in even better shape vocally than the rest of them are instrumentally.

Madame d'amours is an enchanting and pleasingly varied collection of pieces performed for flute consort by The Attaignant Consort. The Consort was founded in 1998 by four graduates (from Australia, France, the Netherlands and Italy) of the Royal Conservatorium in The Hague. Having studied historical flute performance practice under Barthold Kuijken and/or Wilbert Hazelzet, these experts (they also work with such renowned groups as Les Musiciens du Louvre, Freiburger Barockorchester and Musica Antiqua Köln – amongst others) also pursue their passion for the sound world of the Renaissance flute in collaboration with Italian flute maker, Giovanni Tardino. The premise of all concerned is that such consort music aspired to a closeness to the patterns and intonations of the human voice. This was (and is, here) achieved by careful attention to instrumental articulation, expressiveness and dynamic shading. The Attaignant Consort likes to play with facsimiles of the original parts in preference to scores; and from memory whenever possible. For this recording the Consort is joined by harpist Marta Graziolino, lutanist Nigel North and flautist Mathieu Langlois.

Ha! compagnons takes the listener back to a time when the voice and the lute were the true companions in the quest for poetic and musical expression. In exploring this fruitful partnership, Canadian soprano Elodie Bouchard and American lutenist Anthony Harvey offer vivid and colourful interpretations of air de cour, ayres and monodies by 17th-century composers Giulio Caccini, Thomas Campion, Sigismondo d’India, Claudio Monteverdi and Etienne Moulinié.

The German musician Christian Zimmermann, on two historical copies of Renaissance instruments, is delivering to us this interesting anthology dedicated to the lute works by the Galilei family: Vincenzo and Michelangelo, respectively father and brother of the famous Galileo. Vincenzo, also harpsichordist, gamba violist and theorist, introduced both his sons to the art of music and, although we have news that Galileo himself was an excellent lutist, no traces of his compositions remains, while his father and brother were authors of various collections printed from 1563 to 1620. Michelangelo even became lutist at the court of Maximilian i, elector and duke of Munich. The music proposed by Zimmermann consists of a varied overview of the musical forms dedicated to the lute in the Renaissance era: fantasias, ricercars, galiardes, counterpoints, currents, saltarelli, toccatas, in addition to the inevitable “aria di ruggiero", the famous instrumental bass coming from the lyrics of the Orlando Furioso by Ludovico Ariosto.

French Renaissance chansons meet songs by Leonard Cohen: a great modern singer-songwriter, a "troubadour", passed away in 2016. This programme, is a tribute to his art, and provides a link to the French Renaissance chanson.

For the first time a recording with town pipe music from different countries As a juxtaposition of the different styles, "Espanoletas - Spanish Wind" is finally an intensive and serious study of this forgotten genre. The Bremen Town Musicians on tour in Europe; town pipe music around 1600. The tradition of the town pipe from different countries, mainly played on wind instruments.

Philippe Herreweghe, respected elder of the early choral music world, directs a pared-down version of his choir Collegium Vocale Gent in delectably careful performances of music that in less careful hands can sound plain crazy. The slippery harmonies of Carlo Gesualdo’s sixth book of madrigals, written in 1611 but sounding centuries ahead of their time, are nailed down with the sharpest, slenderest of pins thanks to the perfect tuning and clear tone of Herreweghe’s ensemble. One to each line, the singers maintain a finely balanced blend, emerging briefly as soloists at moments of emphasis. Some may find the ambience a bit churchified for these texts, in which images of frolicking cupids are heavily outweighed by the laments of unbedded lovers miserably invoking death; but the performances are full of subtle nuance, and you’re unlikely to hear passages such as the end of Io Pur Respiro, with its sliding, viscous harmonies, better done.

Following the freshness and vigour of their quincentenary portrait celebration of Robert Fayrfax, Ensemble Pro Victoria’s second Delphian album brings a similar boldness of approach to a wider-ranging collection, charting some rarely explored territory from a time of great religious, societal and musical change.

The Gesualdo Six literally made its name with performances of Carlo Gesualdo's Tenebrae Responsories, but that's not the British vocal consort's only specialty. Each of the singers was trained in the English choral tradition, and sacred works of the 16th and 17th century are close to their hearts. This 2018 Hyperion release is a brief survey of motets by Thomas Tallis, William Byrd, Thomas Tomkins, John Sheppard, Robert White, John Dunstaple, Thomas Morley, John Taverner, William Cornysh, Orlando Gibbons, and Robert Parsons, which represent the changing theological and liturgical aspects of English religion in the Renaissance. The ensemble, conducted by Owain Park, sings with evenly blended tones and an extraordinary harmonic richness, notwithstanding the assignment of one voice to a part and the exposed polyphony that sometimes creates an austere effect. Also quite noticeable are the cross-relations that add poignant dissonances to the counterpoint, as in Tallis' Loquebantur variis linguis, Taverner's Quemadmodum, Gibbons' O Lord, in thy wrath rebuke me not, and Parsons' Deliver me from mine enemies. This album was recorded in Trinity College Chapel, Cambridge, where The Gesualdo Six gave its first performances, and the sound is enhanced by vibrant acoustics that give the group a radiant aural halo.

This performance can be labeled Portuguese only loosely, since many of the pieces are sung in Spanish, or taken from Spanish manuscripts, or more properly Galician than Lusitanian. But hey! Who cares? Really artful recordings of any Iberian music of the 'Golden Age' are not sprouting from the cork trees even today. Male alto Gerard Lesne has seldom recorded pre-Baroque chansons, and it's a thrill to hear what he can do with them. Track 9, for instance, the Latin cantiga "Clamabat autem mulier" by Mudarra, takes Lesne from his usual alto register down seamlessly into his tenor chest voice. Wow! Not every counter-tenor can do that and still sound musical!

The relatively rare Masses that celebrate saints other than the Virgin Mary were usually composed in response to an individual’s or an institution’s particular devotional interest. There is good reason to believe that Nicolas Champion composed his Missa de Sancta Maria Magdalena expressly for Margaret of Austria, whose devotion to Mary Magdalene is well known. Champion (c. 1475-1533) worked for the Habsburg-Burgundian chapel from 1501 to 1524; this Mass was probably written between 1507 and 1515.