This recording drew glowing praise from DF when it first appeared in 1977 as part of L'Oiseau-Lyre Florilegium's complete Dowland project, and most of the qualities cited then are still worthy of admiration today. Here are some of Dowland's finest songs performed by musicians intent on bringing out their riches to the full, and though with hindsight David Thomas sounds a little uncomfortable in this repertoire, the singing of Emma Kirkby and Martyn Hill remains outstanding in its mixture of restraint and commitment. Above all, however, the set has retained its freshness, thanks in no small measure to the variety of well-considered vocal and instrumental combinations employed, all of them sanctioned by Dowland in his original publication. The result is a surprisingly colourful mix which complements traditional lute-song interpretations with an assortment of four-part, consort-song and duet versions (though this last category, which includes I saw my lady weepe and Flow my teares, is not especially convincing). This is a welcome re-release, then; it's good to think that there must be plenty more where this came from.'