The Glory of Life

Rarely have I read a sleeve-note that pleads so vehemently in support of the music it introduces as does the one for this collection of works by Henry Lawes. ''I wish this record well,'' writes Anthony rooley, ''for Harry's [Henry's] sake, so that our un-sung genius of song may occupy his rightful place in the halls of Fame, and the late 20th century adopt the same conclusions as his own time''. Certainly you may find it surprising that a composer whose music was praised by such towering contemporaries as Charles I, Milton and Locke should have been neglected so universally by today's champions of early music—surprising, that is, until you hear the music itself.

Given that box sets are too often thrown together in a last cavalier attempt to get mileage from back catalog, it's a pleasure to find one that has rhyme and reason, assembling a program that would be hard for the buyer to find on his or her own and offering a real tribute to a beloved figure.