Martial Guédron

Glossa is now introducing into its catalogue one of the most sought-after titles from the now defunct Symphonia label and a recording replete with poetry and expertise. The graceful airs de cour of Pierre Guédron – who worked in the courts of the French kings Henri IV and Louis XIII at the beginning of the 17th century – are interspersed here with lute preludes by leading exponents of the instrument at the time, such as Robert Ballard and Nicolas Vallet. Soprano Claudine Ansermet and lutenist Paolo Cherici conjure up a recital of singular beauty which takes us back to the world of those early aristocratic salons, such as that of the Marquise de Rambouillet, one which was known throughout Europe as a centre of the highest order for literature, poetry and music.

"We are only at the very beginning of the immense task of understanding the vocal, instrumental, and choreographic practices of late sixteenth century France," writes this disc's annotator. It's Italy and its gigantic wedding spectacles that get all the attention at the end of the sixteenth century. (Imagine if Jenna Bush married the son of the president of Exxon Mobil and the White House enlisted hundreds of artists and musicians to build the ceremony.) This disc is, perhaps, for specialists, but it's a lot of fun for anybody.

The Boston Camerata explores again a little-known side of early music repertoire; Douce beauté (Sweet Beauty). With its accessible melody, strophic form and simplified polyphony to facilitate the understanding of the text, the air de cour marks the entry of France into the baroque era.