BARELY is this country finished with one of the ‘slams’ of the tennis world than we are into a slam among early music festivals, York. Yes, we are right up there along with Boston and Utrecht, leading the world. And how.

In a jam-packed Lyons on Thursday night, BBC Radio 3 sent out a live broadcast of Hespèrion XXI – let’s just call them the Jordi Savall sextet – all over Europe.

It made a mesmerizing start to the festival, which this year concentrates on the Spanish Golden Age and the Baroque period in northern Europe (notably celebrating the 300th birthday of C P E Bach).

Savall, the magician of the viola da gamba (here playing its forerunner, a lira), harked back to an even earlier age.

At the 13th century court of Alfonso X (‘the Wise’) in Castile, there was a marvellous confluence of cultures – Christian, Islamic and Jewish. Provençal troubadours rubbed shoulders with Arab minstrels.

This medley was reflected in the range of instruments. Alongside Savall, we had a sinuous ney (flute), the ubiquitous oud (short-necked lute), both a plucked and a hammered zither, and an array of drums. All six players were virtuosos. All dazzled in solo spotlights.

The music was virtually all monophonic, single-line melodies, dances and laments from Spain to Afghanistan, covering the whole spectrum of emotions.

But the melodies were so dressed up and decorated, with such unanimity, that the audience was left helplessly spellbound.