The Baltimore Consort brought early Scottish music's rhythmically vibrant textures to Synod Hall and the Renaissance and Baroque Society Saturday night.

The early music ensemble displayed its virtuosic performance skills in works from folk music to minstrel and court music of the 16th and 17th centuries.

Supported by Ronn McFarlane's steady lute and the silky textures of viol performances by Mary Anne Ballard, Mark Cudek and Larry Lipkis, flutist Mindy Rosenfeld carried the melodic intricacies of many of the evening's works.

Soprano and Somerset native Danielle Svonavec achieved a beautifully soft dynamic in "O lustie May."

Rosenfeld's flute provided an interesting counter-commentary through her flutter-tongues and excellent tonal balance with Svonavec's voice. The softness of the ensemble's dynamic in this work was countered by a rousing crescendo in the instrumental "A Scot's Tune."

With their whistles and crumhorns (a capped reed instrument, visually reminiscent of the letter J) Rosenfeld and Lipkis found plenty of humor in "Branles d'escosse."

The pair played off of the crumhorn's naturally buzzy timbre, honking at each other as the accompanying strings evolved into a tight rhythm band. McFarlane expertly voiced his lute solo "Two Canaries," so that his instrument's melodic and bass lines remained clear. The second of these "canaries" (named for the Canary Islands) had a strong resemblance to the refrain of the Simon and Garfunkel tune "Homeward Bound." Though not always as specific, similar references to American popular and folk music could be heard in many of the works on the concert.

The Consort made these references explicit by including "The Ballad of Johnny Faa," a Scottish-American folk song from the Appalachian region of Kentucky and Tennessee.

Svonavec tossed off the ballad's vocal punctuations nicely, achieving a strong balance with the plucked string accompaniments.

The clarity of Svonavec's tone was somewhat diminished in "What Mightie motion." Though she found a compelling portrayal of resigned emotion in the refrains of "alace" (pronounced "alas"), the overall shape of the work was undercut by her shaky voice at the song's end.

The R&B Society also said a public goodbye to executive director Ann Mason. Jeannine Lanigan will serve as the society's interim director.