Phantasm adds to its critically-acclaimed repertory of English viol consort music with the first recording in what will be a series exploring the music of Matthew Locke. A turbulent musical personality, Locke has much to endear him to ‘lovers of consort music’; his ceaseless and obsessive quest for variety ensures music of maximum breadth and diversity. Director Laurence Dreyfus has created an intriguing programme that showcases Locke’s rule-bending approach featuring music that is in turn quirky and humorous, lyrical and sweet. Most excitingly, this release reunites the partnership of Phantasm and lutenist Elizabeth Kenny, whose last album together, Dowland: Lachrimae or Seven Tears, won both a Gramophone Award and a Diapason d’Or de l’Année. Locke’s part-writing, and the oftentimes orchestral dimension of his approach, are both highlighted by the opulent realization of the continuo part, devised here with supreme inventive powers by Kenny.
