Album: Handel, Song for St Cecilia's Day – Ludus Baroque/Neville-Towle (Delphian)

Ludus Baroque's second recording under Richard Neville-Towle pairs the grand Song for St Cecilia's Day with the more intimate Cecilian cantata Look Down, Harmonious Saint, using the Concerto Grosso in B flat as a bridge.

Orchestrally and chorally, it has tremendous buoyancy. Solos for flute, organ and cello are artfully phrased, while soprano Mary Bevan and tenor Ed Lyon add zest to Handel's high-arching settings of Dryden's verse.