| Now is the month of maying | Morley | SATTB |
| Come away sweet love | Greaves | SSATB |
| Fair Phyllis | Farmer | SATB |
| Fyer, fyer | Morley | SSATB |
| Thus saith my Cloris bright | Wilbye | SATB |
| April is in my mistress’ face | Morley | SATB |
| Flora gave me fairest flowers | Wilbye | SSATB |
| Love me not for comely grace | Wilbye | SATB |
| Hark all ye lovely saints above | Weelkes | SSATB |
| Come shepherds follow me | Bennet | SATB |
| Since first I saw your face | Ford | SATB |
| Sweet honey sucking bees (both parts) | Wilbye | SSATB |
| The silver swan | Gibbons O | SATBB |
Morley Now is the month of maying (or YouTube link) (SATTB)
This is one of the most famous English ballets, based on the canzonet So ben mi ch'a bon tempo by the Italian composer Vecchi. As with many madrigals of the time there is quite a bit of double entendre. ‘Barley-break’ was a popular chasing game – see this link - but in this and other literary contexts is essentially what one might today call a romp in the hay.
Greaves Come away sweet love (SSATB)
A lovely, graceful piece, one of the four madrigals published in Songs of sundrie kinds in 1604.
Farmer Fair Phyllis (SATB)
A great favourite, full of imaginative word-painting and a sense of adventure. Again there is quite a bit of double entendre here too…
Morley Fyer fyer (SSATB)
A clever re-working of Marenzio’s A la strada. Full of rhythmic intensity and mock-tragic suspensions.
Wilbye Thus saith my Cloris bright (SATB)
Wilbye is probably the most famous of all the English madrigalists, and his pieces have long been favourites. His style is characterized by delicate voice-writing and acute sensitivity to the text.
Morley April is in my mistress’ face (SATB)
Thomas Morley (1557-1602) was a student of William Byrd and is known particularly as the master of the English madrigal style. This piece is one of the shortest and best-known of English madrigals.
Wilbye Flora gave me fairest flowers (SATB)
A lovely simple canzonet (lighter form of madrigal).
Wilbye Love me not for comely grace (SATB)
A delightful poem from the composer’s Second Book of Madrigals.
Weelkes Hark all ye lovely saints (SSATB)
This is an ironic and charming little madrigal, typical of Elizabethan musical wit, with a straight-faced text and teasing music. The moral is that those who believe they suffer most from love truly enjoy the experience.
Benet Come shepherds, follow me (SATB)
We looked at this delightful piece in our January meeting this year. There are ample instances for text-painting: 'run up apace the mountain'; 'haste we hence and fly'.
Ford Since first I saw your face (SATB)
From ‘Music of Sundry Kinds’ of 1607 – although as this was a
collected publication the actual composer is unclear but is unlikely to be Ford himself!
Wilbye Sweet honey sucking bees and Yet sweet take heed
(SSTTB, although the second soprano part can be sung by altos)
Sweet honey-sucking bees, with its sequel Yet, sweet, take heed, is an extended and impressive five-part piece where the composer exploits the idea of repetition as a means of musical expansion.
Gibbons The Silver Swan (SATBB)
No madrigal garden party would be complete without this lovely piece, even though it is strictly a consort song rather than a madrigal.
| Now is the month of maying | Morley | SATTB |
| Come away sweet love | Greaves | SSATB |
| Fair Phyllis | Farmer | SATB |
| Fyer, fyer | Morley | SSATB |
| Thus saith my Cloris bright | Wilbye | SATB |
| April is in my mistress’ face | Morley | SATB |
| Flora gave me fairest flowers | Wilbye | SSATB |
| Love me not for comely grace | Wilbye | SATB |
| Hark all ye lovely saints above | Weelkes | SSATB |
| Come shepherds follow me | Bennet | SATB |
| Since first I saw your face | Ford | SATB |
| Sweet honey sucking bees (both parts) | Wilbye | SSATB |
| The silver swan | Gibbons O | SATBB |
Morley Now is the month of maying (or YouTube link) (SATTB)
This is one of the most famous English ballets, based on the canzonet So ben mi ch'a bon tempo by the Italian composer Vecchi. As with many madrigals of the time there is quite a bit of double entendre. ‘Barley-break’ was a popular chasing game – see this link - but in this and other literary contexts is essentially what one might today call a romp in the hay.
Greaves Come away sweet love (SSATB)
A lovely, graceful piece, one of the four madrigals published in Songs of sundrie kinds in 1604.
Farmer Fair Phyllis (SATB)
A great favourite, full of imaginative word-painting and a sense of adventure. Again there is quite a bit of double entendre here too…
Morley Fyer fyer (SSATB)
A clever re-working of Marenzio’s A la strada. Full of rhythmic intensity and mock-tragic suspensions.
Wilbye Thus saith my Cloris bright (SATB)
Wilbye is probably the most famous of all the English madrigalists, and his pieces have long been favourites. His style is characterized by delicate voice-writing and acute sensitivity to the text.
Morley April is in my mistress’ face (SATB)
Thomas Morley (1557-1602) was a student of William Byrd and is known particularly as the master of the English madrigal style. This piece is one of the shortest and best-known of English madrigals.
Wilbye Flora gave me fairest flowers (SATB)
A lovely simple canzonet (lighter form of madrigal).
Wilbye Love me not for comely grace (SATB)
A delightful poem from the composer’s Second Book of Madrigals.
Weelkes Hark all ye lovely saints (SSATB)
This is an ironic and charming little madrigal, typical of Elizabethan musical wit, with a straight-faced text and teasing music. The moral is that those who believe they suffer most from love truly enjoy the experience.
Benet Come shepherds, follow me (SATB)
We looked at this delightful piece in our January meeting this year. There are ample instances for text-painting: 'run up apace the mountain'; 'haste we hence and fly'.
Ford Since first I saw your face (SATB)
From ‘Music of Sundry Kinds’ of 1607 – although as this was a
collected publication the actual composer is unclear but is unlikely to be Ford himself!
Wilbye Sweet honey sucking bees and Yet sweet take heed
(SSTTB, although the second soprano part can be sung by altos)
Sweet honey-sucking bees, with its sequel Yet, sweet, take heed, is an extended and impressive five-part piece where the composer exploits the idea of repetition as a means of musical expansion.
Gibbons The Silver Swan (SATBB)
No madrigal garden party would be complete without this lovely piece, even though it is strictly a consort song rather than a madrigal.
| Now is the month of maying | Morley | SATTB |
| Come away sweet love | Greaves | SSATB |
| Fair Phyllis | Farmer | SATB |
| Fyer, fyer | Morley | SSATB |
| Thus saith my Cloris bright | Wilbye | SATB |
| April is in my mistress’ face | Morley | SATB |
| Flora gave me fairest flowers | Wilbye | SSATB |
| Love me not for comely grace | Wilbye | SATB |
| Hark all ye lovely saints above | Weelkes | SSATB |
| Come shepherds follow me | Bennet | SATB |
| Since first I saw your face | Ford | SATB |
| Sweet honey sucking bees (both parts) | Wilbye | SSATB |
| The silver swan | Gibbons O | SATBB |
Morley Now is the month of maying (or YouTube link) (SATTB)
This is one of the most famous English ballets, based on the canzonet So ben mi ch'a bon tempo by the Italian composer Vecchi. As with many madrigals of the time there is quite a bit of double entendre. ‘Barley-break’ was a popular chasing game – see this link - but in this and other literary contexts is essentially what one might today call a romp in the hay.
Greaves Come away sweet love (SSATB)
A lovely, graceful piece, one of the four madrigals published in Songs of sundrie kinds in 1604.
Farmer Fair Phyllis (SATB)
A great favourite, full of imaginative word-painting and a sense of adventure. Again there is quite a bit of double entendre here too…
Morley Fyer fyer (SSATB)
A clever re-working of Marenzio’s A la strada. Full of rhythmic intensity and mock-tragic suspensions.
Wilbye Thus saith my Cloris bright (SATB)
Wilbye is probably the most famous of all the English madrigalists, and his pieces have long been favourites. His style is characterized by delicate voice-writing and acute sensitivity to the text.
Morley April is in my mistress’ face (SATB)
Thomas Morley (1557-1602) was a student of William Byrd and is known particularly as the master of the English madrigal style. This piece is one of the shortest and best-known of English madrigals.
Wilbye Flora gave me fairest flowers (SATB)
A lovely simple canzonet (lighter form of madrigal).
Wilbye Love me not for comely grace (SATB)
A delightful poem from the composer’s Second Book of Madrigals.
Weelkes Hark all ye lovely saints (SSATB)
This is an ironic and charming little madrigal, typical of Elizabethan musical wit, with a straight-faced text and teasing music. The moral is that those who believe they suffer most from love truly enjoy the experience.
Benet Come shepherds, follow me (SATB)
We looked at this delightful piece in our January meeting this year. There are ample instances for text-painting: 'run up apace the mountain'; 'haste we hence and fly'.
Ford Since first I saw your face (SATB)
From ‘Music of Sundry Kinds’ of 1607 – although as this was a
collected publication the actual composer is unclear but is unlikely to be Ford himself!
Wilbye Sweet honey sucking bees and Yet sweet take heed
(SSTTB, although the second soprano part can be sung by altos)
Sweet honey-sucking bees, with its sequel Yet, sweet, take heed, is an extended and impressive five-part piece where the composer exploits the idea of repetition as a means of musical expansion.
Gibbons The Silver Swan (SATBB)
No madrigal garden party would be complete without this lovely piece, even though it is strictly a consort song rather than a madrigal.
