Johnson, R: With endless tears

Founded in 1996 and consisting of musicians who have performed in ensembles such as Collegium Vocale and Capilla Flamenca, their CD De Fragiltate (KTC4023) was awarded the prestigious Diapason d’Or. Here they perform songs by Locke, Morley, Campion, Lawes, Ravenscroft and others. Included is a 15th anniversary Zefiro Torna CD.

Beautiful miniatures full of English melancholy.

Purcell’s famous ‘Music for a while’ crowns a century of extraordinary song writing.

Wonderful togetherness of Johannette Zomer and Fred Jacobs.

Johannette Zomer and Fred Jacobs started recording a series of programmes devoted to 17th Century monody for which their research has unveiled many hidden treasures. This recording brings beautiful miniatures, full of English melancholy and humor, including Purcells’s famous ‘Music for a while’. Their previous recordings in this series - ‘Splendore di Roma’, ‘Nuove Musiche’ and ‘l’Esprit Galant’- received great international acclaim.

Matthew Wadsworth is one of the foremost lutenists of his generation. Since graduating from the Royal Academy of Music in 1997, he has quickly gained recognition as one of leading exponents of the 17th-century lute repertoire. This includes the works of Robert Johnson, the last of the great English lutenists and the only known composer to have provided music for Shakespeare’s plays. Much of Johnson’s output is, remarkably, rarely recorded. On this CD, alongside well known songs such as Where the bee sucks and Care charming sleep, are many previously unrecorded masterpieces. Joining Matthew is soprano Carolyn Sampson, who has been described by The Gramophone as “now the best British early music soprano by quite some distance.”