O SWEET LOVE.(Review)

Daniel Taylor [] "O SWEET LOVE" Songs by Byrd and Dowland. Stubbs, Les Voix Humaines. ATMA ACD 2 2207 (Harmonia Mundi, dist.)

Three recitals by fine young countertenors, presenting traditional countertenor repertoire (as defined in the last fifty years or so, that is) -- an endearingly retro idea in these times of sopranista incursions into Berlioz and beyond.

The prize of the lot is Daniel Taylor's recording of Byrd and Dowland songs. At first glance, the program portends a certain monotony -- one soloist, two familiar composers of the late 1500s and the austere accompaniment of lute and viole da gamba. In its quiet, mesmerizing way, though, "O Sweet Love" traverses entire universes of sound and emotion. Much of the credit goes to Taylor, whose singing is ravishing: his voice is lustrous at the top of its range, seductive and vibrant at the bottom, capable of fading away into a sigh (in Byrd's "Blame I confess") or tripping through the intricacies of Dowland's "Come again" with apparent and utterly winning artlessness. Like all outstanding singers, Taylor manages to persuade listeners that he is speaking to them, or that they are somehow privy to his secret, unguarded thoughts, drawing them deep into the depths and telling silences of these remarkable songs. His fellow musicians, gambists Susie Napper and Margaret Little and lutenist Stephen Stubbs, are no less compelling. This is a recording of rare beauty, offering greater rewards each time it is revisited.

In contrast to the narrow focus of Taylor's disc, the program of Celtic melodies by Matthew White and the Skye Consort ...