Performer: Ed Lyon, Theatre of the Ayre
Audio CD
Number of Discs: 1
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Delphian
Size: 676 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
01. Cavalli: Eliogabalo – Misero, così va
02. Landi, S: Passacaglia della Vita
03. Guédron: Aux Plaisirs
04. Lanier: No more shall meads be deck’d with flow’rs (Love’s constancy)
05. Moulinié: O stelle homicide
06. Fontana, G B: Sonata No. 17
07. Lambert, M: Vos mespris chaque jour
08. Boesset, A: Je voudrois bien, ô Cloris
09. Landi, S: Augellin
10. Camus, S: Je veux me plaindre
11. Fontana, G B: Sonata No 8
12. Landi, S: Damigella tutta bella
13. Dowland: Time stands still
14. Dowland: My Thoughts Are Wing’d With Hopes
15. Landi, S: Canta La Cicaletta
The title of this release by tenor Ed Lyon suggests the music’s affinity with the contemporary popular song, and indeed, of all the repertories that have been proposed for this connection, this one comes closer than most. Lyon’s program is original, and he suggests that the songs, like those on a contemporary playlist, can be shuffled with little loss of effect. He’s right, for most of the songs explore a singular idea: the new ground basses that flowered during the early Baroque, regardless of country. Lyon’s titles are Italian, French, and English, taken from the opera, ballet, and chamber genres. They are, to use the modern word, full of hooks, and they are irresistible. The two Dowland songs toward the end of the program, slightly older in style but fitting in well, are familiar enough, but much of Lyon’s program consists of music that will be new to most listeners, and the pieces sound as fresh today as they must have when they were new. Another attraction is the lively continuo accompaniment led by lutenist Elizabeth Kenny, lively and spare. You could sample the pastoral song Aux plaisirs, aux delices, bergères by the early French ballet composer Pierre Guédron, or dip in anywhere. The rather hollow sound from Delphian is a minor disincentive.