Morley: The First Booke of Ayres

Thomas Morley was the most important figure of secular vocal music in Elizabethan England, being one of the very few to set Shakespeare’s text to music during the playwright’s lifetime, and contributing decisively to the rise of a national version of the madrigal imported from Italy. The first collection of ayres, dated form 1600, is here performed by Nigel Rogers, accompanied by Nikolaus Harnoncourt at the gamba and Eugen Dombois at the lute. Also includes as a bonus two pieces for keyboard played by Gustav Leonhardt!