Jordi Savall & Hesperion XXI - Alfonso Ferrabosco - Consort Music To The Viols In 4, 5 & 6 Parts (2003)

Alfonso Ferrabosco the Younger was the bastard son of Alfonso Ferrabosco the Elder, an Italian composer of some merit.
Ferrabosco the Younger grew up in England and became a court musician and music tutor to the young (and short-lived) Prince Henry. His music for viol consort -- a group of players of the viols, precursors of the violin family -- is in my opinion more thoughtful and more contemplative than that of his contemporaries: more like the chamber music of a later era than like the suites of dances typical of the consort music of the day. Jordi Savall, a Catalan who seems obsessed with the desire to put early music from every Mediterranean culture before modern audiences, leads a polished group of players in this group of Ferrabosco works. This is no mere background music for a Shakespeare production. It bears serious listening and separation from the run of the mine Henricean and Elizabethan writers for the viol.