Phantasm - Lawes: Consorts to the Organ - Listen

Penned in the 1630s in the court of Charles I, where he was appointed ‘musician in ordinary' for the king's "lutes, viols, and voices," William Lawes reached his pinnacle with these works for viol consort.

These fantasies must have been remarkably avant-garde in their time, and they remain dary, ruddy labyrinths today - particularly here in SACD, the single greatest audio format. The viol consort Phantasm is a squeezebox of tension and release, firmly supported by organist Danial Hyde. This is a luxuriant discovery.