Fretwork takes everything in its expertly burnished stride. Muhly’s provocative vigour is answered by the soulful musings of the Bryars, and a consort respray of Bull’s keyboard In Nomine in 11/4 sounds decidedly at home…Ravishing, too, is the recording which draws the listener directly into the heart of the ever-confiding musical discourse. This is an utterly civilised and civilising release.

This release speaks of a sustained commitment to the core repertory of English consort music while championing contemporary music for viols...This is Fretwork at their finest: historical sympathy and innovation in bounds, a fearless endeavour to plough through the 21st century in all its noise and ugliness with these old and fragile instruments that continue to have so much to say.

Fretwork, who started out with an album called In Nomine more than 30 years ago, are matchless performers of this contemplative, introverted repertoire. The Bryars, a Fretwork commission from 1995, stands out as a dark, melancholy modern classic.