Founded in 1976, the Folger Consort has primarily focused on music of the Renaissance, but also branches out forward and backward through history. In this collection of music for Christmas, the Washington, D.C.,-based ensemble includes Medieval and Renaissance vocal and instrumental works. The program is divided into sections based on geography and date: eleventh century southern France, thirteenth century England, fourteenth century Italy and Spain, and fifteenth century England. The stylistic and emotional range is also broad, from an intensely earnest and passionate a cappella solo to boisterous carols accompanied by a wonderfully noisy instrumental consort. The mixture of genres and styles works beautifully; the juxtaposition of such diverse repertoire is astonishing and often exhilarating. Much credit goes to the extraordinarily high quality of the performances. Soprano Johanna Arnold, the purity and clarity of whose voice is ideal for this repertoire, is featured on many of the tracks. Her performance of "In sapencia," from the Codex Las Huelgas, is a virtuoso turn; the deep feeling she conveys is a single unaccompanied line is a refutation to any claim that early music is necessarily "dry." The inventive deployment of instruments gives every work a distinctive and attractive color. The album should be of interest to any fan of early music, and to anyone looking for Christmas music that reaches beyond the standard carols. The sound is nicely atmospheric and resonant.
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