These Intermedii of 1589 are the only complete examples of this genre of courtly entertainment to have found their way into print. They are not opera, and are closer in some ways to the modern-day musical: this staged music was designed for performance between the acts of a play, and to be at best incidental to its action. Of the three recordings made in the last 20 years, this one (first issued in 1988 and deleted shortly after) is the best. I reviewed the Huelgas Ensemble’s version a couple of years ago, and Parrott scores higher on just about every count. More so than van Nevel, he captures the sense of festivity that is the music’s raison d’etre (it was part of a lavish wedding celebration). The word ‘lavish’ well describes his instrumental ensemble, by far the richer and more powerful of the two (the continuo group amounts to a small batallion). Van Nevel’s trademark shuffling of voices and instruments hardly succeeds in redressing the balance. And to a more conspicuous degree than van Nevel’s, Parrott’s cast of singers seems to relish the vocal pyrotechnics demanded of it by composer-singers such as Caccini and Peri.
There is another reason to prefer this reissue, which may have been prompted by the appearance of the Sony set: in value-for-money terms, it wins hands down – a single well-filled, budget-price CD against two full-price ones. The only drawback is the loss of the hugely informative insert-notes included in the original issue, but that seems a small price to pay. This is one of the Taverner Consort’s most memorable recordings. It is good to have it back.'