Anthony Holborne is one of the more shadowy figures that flitted across the Elizabethan musical scene. But flitter or flier, Holborne was a gifted composer, as this music from his 1599 collection Pavans, Galliards and Almaines demonstrates in performances which display such affection and understanding of mood, texture and balance. As with, for example, Andrew Lawrence-King's Harp Consort, Hesp鑽ion XXI (as a supplemented viol consort) shows that music of this period can be performed with a real richness and depth of sound, although the players are recorded pretty close, in the evocative (it appears) confines of a Catalonian castle. Three specific dances make up the title of Holborne's collection: many a magically mournful pavan; foot-tapping almaines (The night watch and The Honie-suckle are particular fun); and "galliards" of several different characters, from the wistful Lullabie to the extrovert Fairie-round. Apparently it isn't known if Holborne expected these wonderful melodies to be danced to, or whether this is "dance music to the ear". But I bet there are times you can't keep your feet still. This is another winner from Jordi Savall's recently created label AliaVox, which promises further intriguing out-of-the-way discoveries, though you may find yourself back-tracking fast to this album's Elizabethan Consort Music predecessor. --Andrew Green