The English air for solo voice and lute is one of the happiest mediums for lyric poetry ever conceived. Baritone William Sharp joins the Folger Consort in lute airs by John Dowland and other English composers, and a selection of elegant songs from France and Italy of the same period. The instrumentalists of the Folger Consort enliven this collection of songs with dances, divisions, and fantasies from the end of the 16th century. The Folger Consort is ensemble-in-residence at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC, where it has established one of the most successful early music concert series in the United States. Its founding members are Robert Eisenstein (bowed strings), Christopher Kendall (lute), and Scott Reiss (recorders, percussion). William Sharp (baritone) was winner of the Carnegie Hall International American Music Competition and the Geneva International Competition for Singers. He has performed extensively in the United States and abroad as a recitalist, soloist with orchestra, in chamber music, and as opera singer, in repertoire ranging from medieval to contemporary. Folger Shakespeare Library is a world-class center for scholarship, learning, culture, and the arts. Home to the world’s largest Shakespeare collection and a primary repository for research material from the early modern period (1500–1750), Folger Shakespeare Library is an internationally recognized research library offering advanced scholarly programs in the humanities; a national leader in how Shakespeare is taught in grades K–12; and an award-winning producer of cultural and arts programs. Michael Witmore, Director, Folger Shakespeare Library Janet Griffin, Executive Producer, Folger Consort Donnajean Ward, Manager, Folger Consort Curt Wittig, Recording and editing engineer Jeanne Krohn, Graphic Design Folger Shakespeare Library, 201 East Capitol St., SE, Washington, DC 20003, 202.544.707, www.folger.edu