Please note that music files that are linked to are not necessarily the same edition we will be using on the night and therefore there may be some slight differences.
Batten Lord we beseech thee or YouTube link SATB
Batten (1591-1637) was a Vicar Choral at St Paul’s Cathedral during the immediate pre-Civil War period, and was known for his organ compositions as well as his choral writings. The short but beautifully reflective Lord we beseech thee is sung at Advent and at Lent.
Carlton Calm was the air
YouTube link SSATB
This is the seventh of the Triumphs of Oriana (the 8th if numbering from East’s late added work, Hence stars). Richard Carlton was vicar of St Stephen’s Norwich sometime in the 1570s and later became Master of the Choristers at the cathedral. Carlton’s musical style is similar to the pre-madrigalian English tradition exemplified by Byrd.
Byrd Lullaby my sweet little baby or YouTube link Also in the Oxford Book of English Madrigals SAATB
William Byrd was the finest composer of his age. Byrd, a committed Catholic, took relatively little interest in the madrigal, but the form, with its vivid word-painting, had by the end of the sixteenth-century succeeded the motet in the favour of Catholic patrons. This tender and poignant nativity madrigal was first published in 1588 as part of the collection Psalmes, Sonets, and Songs. The tale is bittersweet, with the serene scene of mother and child with the violence of Herod's wrath. Though marked by a change in meter, the expressive shift between voices is slow and seamless, as repetitions of the word "lullaby" wind into a polyphonic tapestry connecting the refrain and verse.
Bateson Those sweet delightful lilies or YouTube link Also in the Oxford Book of English Madrigals SSATB
This comes from the composer’s First set of English Madrigals. Bateson lived from 1570-1630 and was organist at Chester Cathedral and Christ Church Dublin, although his fame comes from his madrigal compositions.
Tomkins O yes, has any found a lad? or YouTube link Also in the Oxford Book of English Madrigals SATB
The lad in question is, of course, Cupid. There is some wonderful word-painting on ‘flieth’ and a real sense of the singer’s urgency prevails throughout the piece.
Tomkins Fusca in thy starry eyes or YouTube link SSATB
The text is dedicated to ‘Mr Phineas Fletcher’ and has a link to one of his poetic characters. Fusca was the ‘cruel dark lady’ and in the phrase ‘Love in black still mourning dies’ was originally written in ‘black notes’ (which usually referred to sesquialtera or three notes in the time of two). The mock pathos of ‘so many slain’ leads quickly to the capricious rhythms of ‘thou has loved none again’ and the coquettish syncopations of the final fa las.
Please note that music files that are linked to are not necessarily the same edition we will be using on the night and therefore there may be some slight differences.
Batten Lord we beseech thee or YouTube link SATB
Batten (1591-1637) was a Vicar Choral at St Paul’s Cathedral during the immediate pre-Civil War period, and was known for his organ compositions as well as his choral writings. The short but beautifully reflective Lord we beseech thee is sung at Advent and at Lent.
Carlton Calm was the air
YouTube link SSATB
This is the seventh of the Triumphs of Oriana (the 8th if numbering from East’s late added work, Hence stars). Richard Carlton was vicar of St Stephen’s Norwich sometime in the 1570s and later became Master of the Choristers at the cathedral. Carlton’s musical style is similar to the pre-madrigalian English tradition exemplified by Byrd.
Byrd Lullaby my sweet little baby or YouTube link Also in the Oxford Book of English Madrigals SAATB
William Byrd was the finest composer of his age. Byrd, a committed Catholic, took relatively little interest in the madrigal, but the form, with its vivid word-painting, had by the end of the sixteenth-century succeeded the motet in the favour of Catholic patrons. This tender and poignant nativity madrigal was first published in 1588 as part of the collection Psalmes, Sonets, and Songs. The tale is bittersweet, with the serene scene of mother and child with the violence of Herod's wrath. Though marked by a change in meter, the expressive shift between voices is slow and seamless, as repetitions of the word "lullaby" wind into a polyphonic tapestry connecting the refrain and verse.
Bateson Those sweet delightful lilies or YouTube link Also in the Oxford Book of English Madrigals SSATB
This comes from the composer’s First set of English Madrigals. Bateson lived from 1570-1630 and was organist at Chester Cathedral and Christ Church Dublin, although his fame comes from his madrigal compositions.
Tomkins O yes, has any found a lad? or YouTube link Also in the Oxford Book of English Madrigals SATB
The lad in question is, of course, Cupid. There is some wonderful word-painting on ‘flieth’ and a real sense of the singer’s urgency prevails throughout the piece.
Tomkins Fusca in thy starry eyes or YouTube link SSATB
The text is dedicated to ‘Mr Phineas Fletcher’ and has a link to one of his poetic characters. Fusca was the ‘cruel dark lady’ and in the phrase ‘Love in black still mourning dies’ was originally written in ‘black notes’ (which usually referred to sesquialtera or three notes in the time of two). The mock pathos of ‘so many slain’ leads quickly to the capricious rhythms of ‘thou has loved none again’ and the coquettish syncopations of the final fa las.
Please note that music files that are linked to are not necessarily the same edition we will be using on the night and therefore there may be some slight differences.
Batten Lord we beseech thee or YouTube link SATB
Batten (1591-1637) was a Vicar Choral at St Paul’s Cathedral during the immediate pre-Civil War period, and was known for his organ compositions as well as his choral writings. The short but beautifully reflective Lord we beseech thee is sung at Advent and at Lent.
Carlton Calm was the air
YouTube link SSATB
This is the seventh of the Triumphs of Oriana (the 8th if numbering from East’s late added work, Hence stars). Richard Carlton was vicar of St Stephen’s Norwich sometime in the 1570s and later became Master of the Choristers at the cathedral. Carlton’s musical style is similar to the pre-madrigalian English tradition exemplified by Byrd.
Byrd Lullaby my sweet little baby or YouTube link Also in the Oxford Book of English Madrigals SAATB
William Byrd was the finest composer of his age. Byrd, a committed Catholic, took relatively little interest in the madrigal, but the form, with its vivid word-painting, had by the end of the sixteenth-century succeeded the motet in the favour of Catholic patrons. This tender and poignant nativity madrigal was first published in 1588 as part of the collection Psalmes, Sonets, and Songs. The tale is bittersweet, with the serene scene of mother and child with the violence of Herod's wrath. Though marked by a change in meter, the expressive shift between voices is slow and seamless, as repetitions of the word "lullaby" wind into a polyphonic tapestry connecting the refrain and verse.
Bateson Those sweet delightful lilies or YouTube link Also in the Oxford Book of English Madrigals SSATB
This comes from the composer’s First set of English Madrigals. Bateson lived from 1570-1630 and was organist at Chester Cathedral and Christ Church Dublin, although his fame comes from his madrigal compositions.
Tomkins O yes, has any found a lad? or YouTube link Also in the Oxford Book of English Madrigals SATB
The lad in question is, of course, Cupid. There is some wonderful word-painting on ‘flieth’ and a real sense of the singer’s urgency prevails throughout the piece.
Tomkins Fusca in thy starry eyes or YouTube link SSATB
The text is dedicated to ‘Mr Phineas Fletcher’ and has a link to one of his poetic characters. Fusca was the ‘cruel dark lady’ and in the phrase ‘Love in black still mourning dies’ was originally written in ‘black notes’ (which usually referred to sesquialtera or three notes in the time of two). The mock pathos of ‘so many slain’ leads quickly to the capricious rhythms of ‘thou has loved none again’ and the coquettish syncopations of the final fa las.
