For this reissue‚ Naïve have ‘re­concepted’ the packaging from the sober‚ standard early­music artwork which accompanied its original release on Astrée Auvidis a few years ago. Now‚ as befits the title‚ there is a colour photo of a rowing boat lolling in the shallows of a clear blue sea on the front cover‚ and a black­and­white of Skip Sempé‚ apparently on holiday‚ inside. Evocative enough already for some‚ no doubt. But the real aim of this disc is to conjure the flavour of the Mediterranean region with music – more specifically the music of 16th­ and 17th­century Italy and Spain. And it is not the sea which is its subject but rather‚ says Sempé (quoting André Malraux)‚ the ‘Paradise Lost’ of Europe’s Golden Age. So now you know. What it actually contains is a thoroughly attractive mixture of short vocal and instrumental pieces‚ ranging from Italian ariasand Spanish villancicos to a violin sonata by Marini to pieces for viol consort and solos for harpsichord‚ harp and lute. The voice is the common link‚ however‚ for almost all the instrumental pieces have vocal origins: a recorder will play the voice part in a villancico‚ for instance‚ or a viol consort will play an arrangement of Caccini’s Amarilli mia bella which leads to Peter Philips’s florid keyboard elaboration of the same piece. It is the kindof clever sequencing that Sempé is especially good at‚ and it results here in a programme which maintains its interest from beginningto end. The performances themselves are no less imaginative. Keen and alert‚ they strike a well­judged balance between tonal beauty and expressive vigour‚ so that while contrasts in tempo and dynamic can be strong they are never overdone. Guillemette Laurens is as committed and dramatic as ever (though some may find her singing a trifle overbearing)‚ and Sempé once again demonstrates what a superb and natural touch he has on the harpsichord. So all you really have to do with this disc is put it on and enjoy it.