The Golden Age of English Consort Music
| Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625) | Five Three-Part Fantasias (c1620) |
| William Lawes (1602-1645) | Fantasia-Suite no. 7 in D minor |
| Alfonso Ferrabosco II (d. 1628) | Divisions on a Galliard by Francis Cutting |
| John Jenkins (1592-1678) | Lady Katherine Audley’s Bells, VdGS no. 161 |
| Fantasia Suite in A minor, VdGS group IV, no. 1 | |
| Fantasia and Air in C major, VdGS group VII, no. 8 | |
| Matthew Locke (c1622-1677) | Suite no. 2 in G major, the Broken Consort (1661) |
| Nicola Matteis (late 17th century) | Suite in D minor (1685) |
| John Blow (1649-1708) | Sonata in A major |
| Gottfried Finger (c1655-1730) | Sonata no. 2 in D major |
| Henry Purcell (1659-1695) | Pavan in A minor – Pavan in A major |
| Sonata (Chaconne) in G minor, 1697 set no. 6 |
- The Parley of Instruments
- Judy Tarling & Theresa Caudle Renaissance violin
- Mark Caudle bass viol
- Peter Holman chamber organ
The cultivation of string ensemble music reached its height in England in the sixty years between the accession of Charles I in 1625 to the death of Charles II in 1685, promoted by the patronage of a music-loving king and further stimulated by the upheavals of the Civil War, when ‘many chose to fidle at home, than to goe out, and be knockt on the head abroad’. This programme brings together some of the greatest contemporary English music for the classic ‘trio sonata’ ensemble of two violins, bass viol and chamber organ, ranging from the famous three-part fantasias by Orlando Gibbons to sonatas by John Blow and Henry Purcell.
The Parley of Instruments is particularly renowned for its performance and recordings of English music of the period, and is a regular visitor to the Suffolk Villages Festival.