This music is particularly stimulating for me, as I enjoy the way it is put together, as well as the combination of sonorities. The opening Fantazia is one of my favorites. While Lawes' various other music is good too, these continue to be my favorites, and the only set I really return to regularly. There is a particular dynamism here which I enjoy, without the combination of tentative & flippant qualities which sometimes inhabit his viol consorts.
Lawes' violin sets include some superlative music, and there is always an air of freshness about the style. These pieces with two violins work out rather more compellingly than the simpler dance suites or the similar set of pieces for one violin. The latter generally have more involved top lines as compensation for the simpler counterpoint, but the increased virtuosity is better met in Italians like Marini. These two-violin sets are more distinctly English, somewhat comparable to those of Purcell, although more exciting in their freshness and convincing in their solidity. In contrast to the originality here, Purcell's instrumental chamber music seems overrated.
This performance is superb, making the most of the repertory. The sonority & intonation are excellent, and the phrasing & pacing are nearly ideal. If it is to be improved, it won't be by much... perhaps more emotional variety, but the general languid quality seems particularly apt.
Todd M. McComb