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.
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. We looked at the serene first part of this nativity madrigal last meeting; it comes from his 1588 collection Psalmes, Sonnets, and Songs. The second (harder) part is bittersweet, set against the violence of Herod’s wrath; it is marked by a change in meter and a heightened urgency.
Wilbye Thus saith my Cloris bright SATB
John Wilbye, described by a contemporary as "inferior to none in the world… for depth of skill and richness of conceit”, is probably the most famous of all the English madrigalists, with a style characterized by delicate voice-writing and acute sensitivity to text. He spent most of his life in the service of the Kytson family of Hengrave Hall, a recusant household not far from Bury St. Edmunds. His First Set of English Madrigals to 3. 4. 5. and 6. voices was published in 1598 with a dedication to "the Right Worshipful and Vallerous Knight Sir Charles Cavendish" who was related by marriage to the Kytsons. There are 30 madrigals in the set. Like many of his older contemporaries he was inspired by Italian musical models and poems: Thus saith my Cloris bright is a paraphrase of a poem by Guarini, set by Marenzio and reprinted in the second set of Musica Transalpina as So saith my fair.
Gibbons Fair is the rose SSATB
Orlando Gibbons was a leading composer of vocal, keyboard and ensemble or consort music in early 17th century England. He was a chorister at King’s College Cambridge before becoming a Gentleman of the Chapel Royal in 1605, where he gained a reputation as one of England’s finest keyboard players. A contemporary report described the organ as having been “touched by the best finger of that age, Mr Orlando Gibbons.” Fair is the rose is a lament for the death of a relative of his patron, Sir Christopher Hatton; it hovers between minor and major.
East Hence stars, too dim of light SSATB
Michael East (1580-1648) was best known for his five-part fantasias for viols. He was a member of the choir of Ely Cathedral before moving to Lichfield as a lay clerk and choirmaster. This piece is from The Triumphs of Oriana, a collection of madrigals by 23 composers, commissioned by Thomas Morley in honour of an ageing Queen Elizabeth and painting her as an eternally bountiful queen of a pastoral Arcadia. After a brief homophonic statement there follows several lines of nimble imitation, particularly effective on the wordy ‘you dazzle but the sight, you teach to grope by night’
Lassus Mon coeur se recommande or YouTube link SATB
A sad and beautiful love-letter – both a formal farewell and an appeal for one last meeting. Lassus, from modern-day Belgium, was one of the most famous and influential polyphonic masters of the late sixteenth century. He composed around 150 chansons, of which this is an example.
Weelkes To shorten winter’s sadness SSATB
This is a lively ballet. References to ‘mumming’ are probably to mummers’ plays, originally part of spring festivals, celebrating the triumph of spring and death of the winter.
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.
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. We looked at the serene first part of this nativity madrigal last meeting; it comes from his 1588 collection Psalmes, Sonnets, and Songs. The second (harder) part is bittersweet, set against the violence of Herod’s wrath; it is marked by a change in meter and a heightened urgency.
Wilbye Thus saith my Cloris bright SATB
John Wilbye, described by a contemporary as "inferior to none in the world… for depth of skill and richness of conceit”, is probably the most famous of all the English madrigalists, with a style characterized by delicate voice-writing and acute sensitivity to text. He spent most of his life in the service of the Kytson family of Hengrave Hall, a recusant household not far from Bury St. Edmunds. His First Set of English Madrigals to 3. 4. 5. and 6. voices was published in 1598 with a dedication to "the Right Worshipful and Vallerous Knight Sir Charles Cavendish" who was related by marriage to the Kytsons. There are 30 madrigals in the set. Like many of his older contemporaries he was inspired by Italian musical models and poems: Thus saith my Cloris bright is a paraphrase of a poem by Guarini, set by Marenzio and reprinted in the second set of Musica Transalpina as So saith my fair.
Gibbons Fair is the rose SSATB
Orlando Gibbons was a leading composer of vocal, keyboard and ensemble or consort music in early 17th century England. He was a chorister at King’s College Cambridge before becoming a Gentleman of the Chapel Royal in 1605, where he gained a reputation as one of England’s finest keyboard players. A contemporary report described the organ as having been “touched by the best finger of that age, Mr Orlando Gibbons.” Fair is the rose is a lament for the death of a relative of his patron, Sir Christopher Hatton; it hovers between minor and major.
East Hence stars, too dim of light SSATB
Michael East (1580-1648) was best known for his five-part fantasias for viols. He was a member of the choir of Ely Cathedral before moving to Lichfield as a lay clerk and choirmaster. This piece is from The Triumphs of Oriana, a collection of madrigals by 23 composers, commissioned by Thomas Morley in honour of an ageing Queen Elizabeth and painting her as an eternally bountiful queen of a pastoral Arcadia. After a brief homophonic statement there follows several lines of nimble imitation, particularly effective on the wordy ‘you dazzle but the sight, you teach to grope by night’
Lassus Mon coeur se recommande or YouTube link SATB
A sad and beautiful love-letter – both a formal farewell and an appeal for one last meeting. Lassus, from modern-day Belgium, was one of the most famous and influential polyphonic masters of the late sixteenth century. He composed around 150 chansons, of which this is an example.
Weelkes To shorten winter’s sadness SSATB
This is a lively ballet. References to ‘mumming’ are probably to mummers’ plays, originally part of spring festivals, celebrating the triumph of spring and death of the winter.
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.
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. We looked at the serene first part of this nativity madrigal last meeting; it comes from his 1588 collection Psalmes, Sonnets, and Songs. The second (harder) part is bittersweet, set against the violence of Herod’s wrath; it is marked by a change in meter and a heightened urgency.
Wilbye Thus saith my Cloris bright SATB
John Wilbye, described by a contemporary as "inferior to none in the world… for depth of skill and richness of conceit”, is probably the most famous of all the English madrigalists, with a style characterized by delicate voice-writing and acute sensitivity to text. He spent most of his life in the service of the Kytson family of Hengrave Hall, a recusant household not far from Bury St. Edmunds. His First Set of English Madrigals to 3. 4. 5. and 6. voices was published in 1598 with a dedication to "the Right Worshipful and Vallerous Knight Sir Charles Cavendish" who was related by marriage to the Kytsons. There are 30 madrigals in the set. Like many of his older contemporaries he was inspired by Italian musical models and poems: Thus saith my Cloris bright is a paraphrase of a poem by Guarini, set by Marenzio and reprinted in the second set of Musica Transalpina as So saith my fair.
Gibbons Fair is the rose SSATB
Orlando Gibbons was a leading composer of vocal, keyboard and ensemble or consort music in early 17th century England. He was a chorister at King’s College Cambridge before becoming a Gentleman of the Chapel Royal in 1605, where he gained a reputation as one of England’s finest keyboard players. A contemporary report described the organ as having been “touched by the best finger of that age, Mr Orlando Gibbons.” Fair is the rose is a lament for the death of a relative of his patron, Sir Christopher Hatton; it hovers between minor and major.
East Hence stars, too dim of light SSATB
Michael East (1580-1648) was best known for his five-part fantasias for viols. He was a member of the choir of Ely Cathedral before moving to Lichfield as a lay clerk and choirmaster. This piece is from The Triumphs of Oriana, a collection of madrigals by 23 composers, commissioned by Thomas Morley in honour of an ageing Queen Elizabeth and painting her as an eternally bountiful queen of a pastoral Arcadia. After a brief homophonic statement there follows several lines of nimble imitation, particularly effective on the wordy ‘you dazzle but the sight, you teach to grope by night’
Lassus Mon coeur se recommande or YouTube link SATB
A sad and beautiful love-letter – both a formal farewell and an appeal for one last meeting. Lassus, from modern-day Belgium, was one of the most famous and influential polyphonic masters of the late sixteenth century. He composed around 150 chansons, of which this is an example.
Weelkes To shorten winter’s sadness SSATB
This is a lively ballet. References to ‘mumming’ are probably to mummers’ plays, originally part of spring festivals, celebrating the triumph of spring and death of the winter.
