Customer Reviews

Robin Hood: Elizabethan Ballad Settings

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Paul O'Dette is unquestionably the finest performer on the renaissance lute who is recording these days. This CD is a compilation of 24 assorted ballad settings, from a wide variety of sources.

I like this CD somewhat better than its companion disc "The Royal Lewters", primarily because the highlights of the CD are tracks 13 through 17 featuring music of William Byrd. Along with John Dowland, Byrd represents the top of the food chain for Elizabethan composers, so this CD has some real compositional meat to it. The title track, "Robin Hood", is offered in a setting by one "Mr. Ascue", and it is quite a nice version.

O'Dette also performs 4 tracks on the orpharion, and 4 other tracks on the 4-course cittern. The timbre of these instruments takes some getting used to, but it serves for a nice contrast to the more mellifluous tone of his lute.

I believe that this CD and "The Royal Lewters" are available as a 2-CD set called "Lusty Gallant"; I would recommend the double-disc for a purchase rather than the two individual CDs.

The reviewer from August 2005 seems to be mistaken. The 1st disc of Lusty Gallants does have the same tracks as this Robin Hood cd, but the 2nd disc, based on the Amazon track listings, is not the same as The Royal Lewters. (I have Royal Lewters and recommend it highly.)