Latitude 37 are Julia Fredesdorff (baroque violin), Laura Vaughan (viola da gamba) and Donald Nicolson (harpsichord and organ).
The trio's first, eponymous recording was an exuberant approach to music of 17th-century Italy and Spain.
Empires goes east, exploring music by German composers in the Holy Roman Empire, spiced by the conflict with the Turks in the Ottoman Empire.
Works by Buxtehude, J. C. Bach and others are set beside works derived from Dimitrie Cantemir in the Ottoman court and traditional Moldavian dances.
There are exciting clashes of cultures in 31 tracks, all brevities apart from a sonata for violin and one for viola da gamba.
Many guest musicians ably assist; we hear the Arabic oud (theorbo ancestor) and Turkish percussion instruments among the unusual combinations.
Highlights: Western keys, Middle Eastern modes.
