Please note that music files that are linked to are not necessarily the same edition we will be using on the day and therefore there may be some slight differences.
Morley O amica mea
or YouTube (first 2'51" only) SSATB (We will sing this in Latin)
O amica mea is a somewhat-neglected, beautifully-sustained and sophisticated love song with an almost comical text from the Song of Songs: O my love, your hair is like a flock of goats, moving down mount Gilead. It was originally published without explanation at the end of Morley's theoretical manual A Plaine and Easie Introduction to Practicall Musicke (1597)– a lesson in how to write such powerful polyphony, perhaps?
John Wilbye Adieu sweet Amaryllis
or YouTube Also in the Oxford Book of English Madrigals SATB
This rich and graceful piece was published in 1598. It starts plaintively in G minor, evoking the musical texture of a lute song. The 'heavy tidings' of the lovers' parting become denser and more chromatic. After an apparent close on the major chord, Wilbye poignantly draws the music out further with a G major codetta, as if the speaker finds himself unable to utter the final 'Adieu...'
Morley Fyer fyer
or YouTube Also in the Oxford Book of English Madrigals SSATB
This favourite is a clever re-working of Marenzio's A la strada. Its simple text echoes the desperate cries of the lovelorn. It is full of rhythmic intensity and mock-tragic suspensions, juxtaposing groups of voices at high speed and following their cries with robust fa-las. 'O help!' is set in a similarly frenzied style, limited to the upper voices for stridency and contrasting with the weight of the 'ay me' section, which uses long notes, a chain of mock-tragic suspensions and a pathetic rest in all voices. The final fa-la section offers a lengthy imitative playing-out of a syncopated motive, as if to deny the poor burning-hearted poet any rest until the very end.
Mundy Lightly she whipped
or YouTube SSATB
This is from The Triumphs of Oriana, Thomas Morley's anthology in honour of Queen Elizabeth (or, some think, Anne of Denmark). John Mundy (son of William), organist at St George’s Windsor, was one of the earliest madrigalists. The deftly imitative Lightly she whipped is an example of a literary madrigal, a mode that arose from an instinctive rebellion against the constraints of formal verse. The freedom of the piece is driven by the demands of the music and suggested to poets of the late sixteenth century an escape from the rigours of the sonnet form. It is written in two flats, starting in G minor with several visits to the relative major, but as the piece progresses it becomes harder to categorise a key – so watch out carefully for accidentals!
Kirbye See what a maze of error
or YouTube Also in the Oxford Book of English Madrigals SSATB
George Kirbye was probably a musical contact of John Wilbye. Kirbye's madrigals tend to be serious compositions and are characterised by minor modes and a careful attention to text. See what a maze of error is stylistically influenced by Marenzio, with false relations (eg S/A in bar 3), word-painting ('my love hath traced') and melismatic suspensions throughout.
Weelkes Lady, your eye (note this is a semitone lower than our version)
or YouTube SSATB
This is an unusual one-verse ballet. Look out for some glorious suspensions resolving onto suspensions, especially in the second part where, together with discordant intervals, they produce harmonic effects which are among the most advanced of the sixteenth century.
We sang Morley - April is in my mistress' face instead of this Weelkes piece
Please note that music files that are linked to are not necessarily the same edition we will be using on the day and therefore there may be some slight differences.
Morley O amica mea
or YouTube (first 2'51" only) SSATB (We will sing this in Latin)
O amica mea is a somewhat-neglected, beautifully-sustained and sophisticated love song with an almost comical text from the Song of Songs: O my love, your hair is like a flock of goats, moving down mount Gilead. It was originally published without explanation at the end of Morley's theoretical manual A Plaine and Easie Introduction to Practicall Musicke (1597)– a lesson in how to write such powerful polyphony, perhaps?
John Wilbye Adieu sweet Amaryllis
or YouTube Also in the Oxford Book of English Madrigals SATB
This rich and graceful piece was published in 1598. It starts plaintively in G minor, evoking the musical texture of a lute song. The 'heavy tidings' of the lovers' parting become denser and more chromatic. After an apparent close on the major chord, Wilbye poignantly draws the music out further with a G major codetta, as if the speaker finds himself unable to utter the final 'Adieu...'
Morley Fyer fyer
or YouTube Also in the Oxford Book of English Madrigals SSATB
This favourite is a clever re-working of Marenzio's A la strada. Its simple text echoes the desperate cries of the lovelorn. It is full of rhythmic intensity and mock-tragic suspensions, juxtaposing groups of voices at high speed and following their cries with robust fa-las. 'O help!' is set in a similarly frenzied style, limited to the upper voices for stridency and contrasting with the weight of the 'ay me' section, which uses long notes, a chain of mock-tragic suspensions and a pathetic rest in all voices. The final fa-la section offers a lengthy imitative playing-out of a syncopated motive, as if to deny the poor burning-hearted poet any rest until the very end.
Mundy Lightly she whipped
or YouTube SSATB
This is from The Triumphs of Oriana, Thomas Morley's anthology in honour of Queen Elizabeth (or, some think, Anne of Denmark). John Mundy (son of William), organist at St George’s Windsor, was one of the earliest madrigalists. The deftly imitative Lightly she whipped is an example of a literary madrigal, a mode that arose from an instinctive rebellion against the constraints of formal verse. The freedom of the piece is driven by the demands of the music and suggested to poets of the late sixteenth century an escape from the rigours of the sonnet form. It is written in two flats, starting in G minor with several visits to the relative major, but as the piece progresses it becomes harder to categorise a key – so watch out carefully for accidentals!
Kirbye See what a maze of error
or YouTube Also in the Oxford Book of English Madrigals SSATB
George Kirbye was probably a musical contact of John Wilbye. Kirbye's madrigals tend to be serious compositions and are characterised by minor modes and a careful attention to text. See what a maze of error is stylistically influenced by Marenzio, with false relations (eg S/A in bar 3), word-painting ('my love hath traced') and melismatic suspensions throughout.
Weelkes Lady, your eye (note this is a semitone lower than our version)
or YouTube SSATB
This is an unusual one-verse ballet. Look out for some glorious suspensions resolving onto suspensions, especially in the second part where, together with discordant intervals, they produce harmonic effects which are among the most advanced of the sixteenth century.
We sang Morley - April is in my mistress' face instead of this Weelkes piece
Please note that music files that are linked to are not necessarily the same edition we will be using on the day and therefore there may be some slight differences.
Morley O amica mea
or YouTube (first 2'51" only) SSATB (We will sing this in Latin)
O amica mea is a somewhat-neglected, beautifully-sustained and sophisticated love song with an almost comical text from the Song of Songs: O my love, your hair is like a flock of goats, moving down mount Gilead. It was originally published without explanation at the end of Morley's theoretical manual A Plaine and Easie Introduction to Practicall Musicke (1597)– a lesson in how to write such powerful polyphony, perhaps?
John Wilbye Adieu sweet Amaryllis
or YouTube Also in the Oxford Book of English Madrigals SATB
This rich and graceful piece was published in 1598. It starts plaintively in G minor, evoking the musical texture of a lute song. The 'heavy tidings' of the lovers' parting become denser and more chromatic. After an apparent close on the major chord, Wilbye poignantly draws the music out further with a G major codetta, as if the speaker finds himself unable to utter the final 'Adieu...'
Morley Fyer fyer
or YouTube Also in the Oxford Book of English Madrigals SSATB
This favourite is a clever re-working of Marenzio's A la strada. Its simple text echoes the desperate cries of the lovelorn. It is full of rhythmic intensity and mock-tragic suspensions, juxtaposing groups of voices at high speed and following their cries with robust fa-las. 'O help!' is set in a similarly frenzied style, limited to the upper voices for stridency and contrasting with the weight of the 'ay me' section, which uses long notes, a chain of mock-tragic suspensions and a pathetic rest in all voices. The final fa-la section offers a lengthy imitative playing-out of a syncopated motive, as if to deny the poor burning-hearted poet any rest until the very end.
Mundy Lightly she whipped
or YouTube SSATB
This is from The Triumphs of Oriana, Thomas Morley's anthology in honour of Queen Elizabeth (or, some think, Anne of Denmark). John Mundy (son of William), organist at St George’s Windsor, was one of the earliest madrigalists. The deftly imitative Lightly she whipped is an example of a literary madrigal, a mode that arose from an instinctive rebellion against the constraints of formal verse. The freedom of the piece is driven by the demands of the music and suggested to poets of the late sixteenth century an escape from the rigours of the sonnet form. It is written in two flats, starting in G minor with several visits to the relative major, but as the piece progresses it becomes harder to categorise a key – so watch out carefully for accidentals!
Kirbye See what a maze of error
or YouTube Also in the Oxford Book of English Madrigals SSATB
George Kirbye was probably a musical contact of John Wilbye. Kirbye's madrigals tend to be serious compositions and are characterised by minor modes and a careful attention to text. See what a maze of error is stylistically influenced by Marenzio, with false relations (eg S/A in bar 3), word-painting ('my love hath traced') and melismatic suspensions throughout.
Weelkes Lady, your eye (note this is a semitone lower than our version)
or YouTube SSATB
This is an unusual one-verse ballet. Look out for some glorious suspensions resolving onto suspensions, especially in the second part where, together with discordant intervals, they produce harmonic effects which are among the most advanced of the sixteenth century.
We sang Morley - April is in my mistress' face instead of this Weelkes piece
