In Music from the Royal Court, the
Philip Jones Brass Ensemble presents a wide assortment of sixteenth and seventeenth century pieces in modern adaptations that are as idiomatic for the instruments as they are faithful in spirit to the originals. The pure sonorities, fully voiced harmonies, and clean lines of Renaissance music are perfectly suited to the open resonance and bright timbres of the brass; and the music's vital rhythmic interplay is given reinforcement through crisp articulation and distinctive shadings of tone. Sometimes the arrangements are highly dramatic, as in
Elgar Howarth's theatrically medieval version of The Agincourt Song; or surprising and fun, as in the boisterous rhythmic bouncing in
John Bull's The King's Hunting Jig, which features the London Festival Brass Ensemble. Fanfares and dances dominate this two-disc set, most of them under three minutes in duration, and several great composers are under-represented in these short pieces. Consequently, some of the more satisfying selections are the suites, particularly
Henry VIII's Rose Without a Thorn,
Claude Gervaise's Danceries, and the Terpsichorean Suite of
Michael Praetorius, where a fuller sense of the composers' qualities can be ascertained. Decca's sound is superb and fine sound separation successfully conveys many glorious antiphonal effects.