Richard Boothby and Robert Woolley are well known for their performances of early viol and harpsichord music. As a member of Fretwork, Boothby has already recorded music by Lawes (6/88 and 8/91). The Purcell Quartet is generally known for its performances of later baroque music, although it has clearly sought to popularize lesser known antecedents. In the case of the Lawes Fantasia-Suites, the Purcell Quartet was anticipated by London Baroque, whose recording was reviewed in the pages of Gramophone just under a year ago.
Their instruments-later seventeenth-century violins and reproduction viol and organ-cannot strictly be considered period instruments specific to this repertory, though neither were those used by London Baroque. Their choice of pitch-A=440, with the organ tuned in meantone temperament-is distinctly higher and probably more 'modern' than that used by London Baroque; certainly they produce a brighter sound, with less chiaroscuro, which because of their generally faster tempos is also more virile.
To its credit, the music flourishes in both guises. I particularly liked the organ timbre and the delicate effect Woolley produces in his solo passages, though the temperament grates in the D major suites. Richard Boothby's bowing articulation, even more than that of Charles Medlam, reflects his familiarity through Fretwork with the subtleties of the English consort repertory. The violin playing of Catherine Mackintosh and Catherine Weiss is polished and spirited. They emphasize the linear quality of the music, bringing Lawes's particular kind of chromaticism and the concluding rallentandos (known as 'drags') into sharp relief. However much one may muse about the probable original circumstances of this music, thoughtful performances as different as these by the Purcell Quartet and London Baroque serve to remind us of the power of the interpreter.'