The Italian Dramatic Lament is a collection of early music, primarily vocal music that was popular in 17th century Italy. Composers wrote and often performed music that was meant to move the audience to tears (thus the name lament). This new group, winner of the Early Music America Competition in 2003, picks both vocal and instrumental laments from the Lament literature and performs them beautifully in the style and appropriate instrumentation. Catherine Webster, the soprano, handles all this music and ornamentation with ease, and the ensemble plays at top notch performance level.