Having succeeded so well with their recording of William Lawes’s five­part consort setts (Channel Classics‚ 8/00)‚ Phantasm have turned exclusively to the six­part repertory‚ inviting Varpu Haavisto and Susanne Braumann to augment their quartet. Concordia‚ on the other hand‚ have opted for a mixed disc of instrumental versions of once popular catches‚ resonant lyra viol trios and six­part consort setts with ad libitum organ. The programme notes are by their respective founder­directors‚ Laurence Dreyfus and Mark Levy. Although a supporting organ part in Lawes’s own hand survives for the six­part setts‚ it evidently doesn’t always agree with the autograph score. Feeling that superfluous doubling was a positive hindrance to their music­making‚ Phantasm chose not take up the option (provided‚ should it prove necessary‚ to maintain order and intonation). Dreyfus has nevertheless purloined the occasional independent line from the keyboard part‚ originally meant momentarily to enrich the ensemble textures‚ and has skilfully (and surreptitiously) incorporated them into his own versions – was something‚ I wonder‚ added near the end of the first Fantazy of the C minor Sett? – seeking the best of both worlds. Levy’s ensemble on Metronome might well have also dispensed with the sustaining resonance of the organ‚ however aptly played here by Gary Cooper. Dreyfus writes passionately about the music‚ referring to ‘a Dionysian frenzy hell­bent on breaking civilised taboos’ and ‘jubilant incantations’‚ at last concluding that Lawes must have been the kind of composer ‘who frankly doesn’t give a damn what you think’. So what do we hear? A subtly resonant‚ particularised landscape: in effect an Elysian soundscape. Gone is the corporate consort sound we learned to relish in former decades‚ replaced with rather more democratic textures. With seeming ease‚ the voice of each viol emerges and withdraws on cue as the music unfolds with sublime logic and unquestionable momentum. For me the best setts are the two in minor keys‚ which offered Lawes a richer harmonic palette and the players greater expressive possibilities. The harmonically bizarre first Fantazy of the C minor Sett must have excited 17th­century ears‚ which – if they were lucky – were treated as we are here to an excitingly paced second Fantazy‚ then an ‘Inomine’ (‘sinewy’ and sustained at first‚ then quicker in the second section‚ the plainchant exquisitely interwoven and at the same time plain for all to hear)‚ and finally a vibrant Aire‚ resplendent in its swaggering repeated notes and syncopated dash. Whether it would make so vivid an impression from another ensemble is doubtful. Dreyfus’s unselfconscious hyperbolic enthusiasm aside‚ these are beautifully thought­out‚ sympathetic performances‚ worthy of a cultivated monarch and the composer’s quatercentenary. As if to ensure our attention‚ Levy has awkwardly entitled the Concordia offering ‘Knock’d on the head’‚ after a remark by Roger North about how much more sensible it was around the time of Charles I’s trial and execution‚ ‘to fidle at home’ rather than to go out in public. He need not have worried: his choice of music speaks charmingly enough for itself and the Concordia members play with particular precision and sensitivity. I especially enjoyed the lyra viol trios‚ especially the Fantazy of the D minor‚ and the chance to hear the catches (the texts have not survived). Levy writes with authority and clarity about Lawes’s music‚ but his excitement curiously fails to imprint his performances. They often seem cool‚ inward­looking and lacking in essential pulse and impetus. Where direct comparisons can be made‚ the Concordia tracks are usually slower; this might not have mattered with a stronger sense of momentum. Elsewhere‚ in the ‘Humor’ of the D major lyra viol trio‚ Levy‚ Veli­Markus Tapio and Joanna Levine play wittily enough‚ but their sluggish tempo cheats the ‘jokes’ of their impact‚ and in the catch ‘Hark jolly lads’ they sound positively morose. When Concordia does speed up‚ it conveys a completely different‚ altogether more positive‚ impression. It is unfortunate that these recordings should have appeared in such close proximity. Many collectors will rightly value the Concordia disc for the variety of music therein. But connoisseurs of consort playing can’t help but be struck by the greater impact of the music from Dreyfus and his colleagues: Phantasm is truly in a class of its own.