Less than 18 months ago we highlighted Albane Imbs as One to Watch as lutenist and founder of the vocal and instrumental ensemble Les Kapsber’girls (A/24). Now we welcome her third album with that talented ensemble on the Alpha label. The previous quartet of performers has been joined on triple harp by Pernelle Marzorati, who augments a dazzling spectrum of string-playing, all topped by sparkling singing. It’s a clever programme too: an Italian vocal selection is punctuated by German instrumental works by the group’s namesake, Hieronymus Kapsberger. The vocal pieces are all by Baroque female composers ranging from the better-known Barbara Strozzi to the less familiar Lucia Quinciani, and every piece is engaging and exciting, making for a high-energy, sonically delightful album that is best heard in two or three sittings.

The album opens with Strozzi’s duet ‘Mercè di voi’ (‘By your mercy’), known to me from Musica Secreta’s Strozzi album with harpsichordist John Toll (Amon Ra, 1/95), and these two performances complement each other extremely well. Where Musica Secreta took a lighter approach, spinning out each line, Les Kapsber’girls are deliciously hasty, highlighting drama at every opportunity. The same can be said of Strozzi’s ‘Canto di bella bocca’ (‘Song of the beautiful mouth’), in which Les Kapsber’girls find a darker and more etched tone than Musica Secreta. I need both in my life, the sparkling purity and the daring, characterful outpouring. Listen out for the line ‘Con passaggio veloce’ (‘in its swift passage’), describing the act of singing, because here Axelle Verner almost speaks her part. Delicious irony.

That Les Kapsberger’girls can be feisty is to be celebrated, but in fact they operate best at the extremes of emotion: the call to arms in Isabella Leonarda’s Ad arma, o spiritus (‘To arms, you spirits’) is rousing and urgent, while the lamenting bass of Strozzi’s ‘Che si può fare?’ (‘What can be done?’) makes for a luscious underpinning to Alice Duport-Percier’s increasing distress, culminating in her exquisite singing on ‘fuoco di pene’ (‘fires of pain’). Finally, Quinciani’s Udite lagrimosi spiriti d’Averno (‘Hear, O tearful spirits of Avernus’) brings a touching close to the programme and a moment of reflection, since it’s the only known piece to survive from the composer. This album is superb on every level – but I would welcome a more detailed booklet note.