Perpetual Night: 17th Century Airs and Songs

Lucile Richardot makes a wonderful guide to this treasury of 17th-century songs, many written for the court of Henry, Prince of Wales. With her rich, expressive voice and beautifully clear diction, she’s particularly good at conveying melancholy moods. The evenness of her singing from deep down in the register right to the top is particularly impressive, and she’s a born storyteller. William Lawes’ “Music, the master of thy art is dead,” with the male singers of Ensemble Correspondances, creates some breathtaking and intense sonorities. Sébastien Daucé draws gorgeous sounds from his instrumentalists.