What a wonderful recording! The lineup of soloists is simply stunning. There are many of them: practically a different person for each air. This achieves admirable variety, and each voice is a pleasure to hear. I'm a big fan of hautes-contre, so I was really happy to discover that they get to sing most of the "alto" airs on this set. The highlight of this recording is my all time favorite Purcell air 'Tis Nature's Voice, stunningly sung here by Rogers Covey-Crump. I think I've heard just about every 'Tis Nature's Voice ever recorded (except for Rene Jacobs, who I wouldn't really want to hear), and Covey-Crump undeniably gets the most out of it. But my favorite remains Mark Padmore on the Herreweghe recording of Hail! Bright Cecilia. Herreweghe uses fewer soloists (Padmore sings all tenor and half of all countertenor parts), and slower tempi that, in my view, help the singers' intonation. But all in all, the choice ends up being a matter of taste. There is no rational basis to prefer one of these two recordings over the other: both are wonderful.