Songs and arias

A number of intriguing recent releases have concentrated on aspects of early song, presented in the form of multi-composer recitals or collections of music by single authors. English music is central to collections sung by the soprano Elizabeth Hungerford on Love & lust ([no label] issued 2014, 56′) and the tenor Nicholas Phan on A painted tale (Avie AV2325, rec 2014, 70′), the former accompanied only by viola da gamba, the latter by gamba and lute. The use of the gamba alone necessarily makes for a certain intimate quality, which both Hungerford and her accompanist, Andrew Arceci, fully exploit, and the selection of songs, a mixture of Italian and English, is highly effectively interspersed with solo gamba pieces by the ever-impressive Tobias Hume. Hungerford’s voice is crystal clear, a perfect counterfoil for the gamba’s smokily rich timbre; she proves herself, in I attempt from love’s sickness to fly to...