IT is easy to see why the Sollazzo Ensemble won the York Early Music International Young Artists Competition last year.

It is not just a question of technical brilliance but just as much that sense of engagement with both the audience as well as each other. This was evident from the opening Il Megli’é Pur Tacere (Perugia) which was superbly articulated and the individual lines were crystal clear.

There was humour too. Trebor’s Le Basile (The Basilisk), for example, where tenor Vivien Simon weaved a magical musical spell around the instrumentalists.

Soprano Yukie Sato’s take on Va Fortune (Anonymous) was quietly yet deliciously intense and the instrumental signing-off proved to be one of the tenderest of extended cadences. The performance of Landini’s Musica Son was arguably the most satisfying of the evening and the bravura final Cacciando Per Gustar by Zacara was outrageously, energetically brilliant.

The City Musick concert was entitled Silver Sounds and Moody Food and proved to be a highly original theatre of music in five utterly compelling acts.

The first impression was that of the ensemble sound itself: a subtle blend of flute, lute, cittern, bandora plus treble and bass viol. It was simply hauntingly original and add Victoria Couper’s voice into the mix, with a carefully researched lyrical pronunciation – a bit like The Archers - and it was like being transported back in time.

The concert opened with a performance of Morley’s My Lord of Oxenfords Maske. The playing was simply exquisite with quietly virtuosic contributions from David Miller (lute).

I loved the rhythmic dancing in Joyne Hands and the addition of Ms Couper to sing Now Is The Month Of May was a joy. After a genuine Bachelar's Delight and a charming performance of Morley’s O Mistresse Mine, we were treated to delightful musical conversation between the three viols in Ferrabosco’s A Fancie. My highlight of the second half was the ode to Lord Willoughby, The fifteenth Of July, but only because it was so funny!