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Phantasm - William Byrd - BBC Radio 3 CD Review


18 June 2011
BBC Radio 3 CD Review
Andrew McGreggor

And so to bed. William Byrd's Goodnight Ground from around 1569 played with such expressive delight by Phantasm directed from the treble viol by Laurence Dreyfus. If you've ever thought of the viol consort as dusty, musty, and sober-sided, then this ensemble is the antidote: real rhythmic vitality, warmth, full-blooded sonority and urgently communicative musicianship. This is Byrd's complete consort music, every morsel delivered with relish and it's an outstanding hybrid SACD from Linn Records.
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