Nowadays, the Italian repertory of fifteenth-century secular music is better known through the reworkings of visiting foreigners like Isaac and Josquin than by the home-grown article. This recording introduces some of those native idioms and composers: the famous Scaramella tune made famous by Compere and Josquin (assuming that setting is his) appears in its original, monophonic guise; elsewhere, two songs by the frottolist Marchetto Cara set the tone. As with Italian music of later periods, polyphonic textures are deliberately played down to allow for the maximum projection and embellishment of the principal line. A number of non-vocal pieces attest to the preoccupation with instrumental virtuosity, represented by such figures as the lutenist Serafino. Sirinu have been active on the concert circuit for a number of years, but this disc marks their debut as recording artists. The programme is varied, the choice of instrumental combinations judicious and spirited, and the performers’ lightness of touch rests as easily on the ear as the music itself. Lightness is indeed the chief attribute of Sara Stowe’s singing, shown to best effect in pieces like Non e tempo d’aspectare, Scopri, lingua or the possibly scurrilous piece de resistance, Villana.

Lutenist, singer and composer Henry VIII and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, presided for a short while over one of the most cultivated European courts. Sirinu, with imaginative deployment of instrumental colour, performs the songs, consort music and arrangements attributed to Henry Tudor, including the well-known ‘Pastyme with good companye’. A fascinating disc.