Continuing his series of Shakespeare-topical repertoire with Musicians of the Globe, Philip Pickett leaves the relatively 'high' art of odes and music for plays to attend to the broadside ballad. Not that the distinction between court and street music was as factionalized as we would have it now: the last track, Sellinger's Round - an urban jig - unashamedly led William Byrd to write one of his most elevated sets of keyboard variations. The broadside ballad was widely distributed throughout the land in the Bard's day, published in large folios and peddled by commercial travellers who demonstrated their effect. Politics, scandal and sex were all well covered. Pickett's programme is a revealing mix of ballad settings for instruments and voices delivered in an impressively varied manner. Sometimes the unaccompanied original is served, unadulterated, as in The London Prentice (to the tune 'Nancie') where Roderick Williams demonstrates his admirably clear diction. He, and the other singers, shun the temptation to wallow in an often imaginary vernacular of scrummy cider-drinking vowels. In Watkins Ale, which is all about sex, and Go, silly note, Joanne Lunn and Paul Agnew characterize the texts unobtrusively with welljudged implication for the double entendre.

The instrumental settings range from the highly idiomatic language of Giles Farnaby, whose Loath to depart is exquisitely rendered by harpsichordist Gary Cooper, to the robust and skilful consort settings by Oxford composer William Wigthorpe and continental émigré William Brade. Moving from Lord Wi/loughhie's welcome home for two lutes to the expressive How can the tree? with its poignant four-viol accompaniment (the viol consort is less convincing on its own) exemplifies the happy juxtaposition of short and sharp ballads with extended, cultivated reworkings. Good programming, good no-nonsense tunes and performances full of zest and affection. Recommended.

-- Gramophone [9/1999]