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.
Tomkins Holy, holy, holy SSATB
This piece, new to us, is from 'Musica Deo sacra', an anthology compiled by Nathaniel Tomkins of his father's compositions. Thomas Tomkins was associated with Worcester Cathedral, was master of the choristers and also as organist, for over 50 years, until the outbreak of the Civil War. For over 30 years he held a simultaneous post at the Chapel Royal; quite how he managed the two can only be imagined!
There are no on-line videos I can find, and at the time of writing I have ordered but not yet received the music. But I have chosen the piece for a reason - see if you can work it out before the end of the meeting...
Stop press - Ruth found this YouTube which is part of a recording of an old LP record.
Bateson Those sweet, delightful lilies
or YouTube 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. It's a lovely piece. The composer seems perhaps to regret having gifted flowers to his Phyllis, as the semi-obligatory (and exquisite) languish/anguish moment suggests.
Bennett Come shepherds follow me
or YouTube SATB
John Bennet (sometimes spelled 'Benet') is best known for the much-loved Oriana madrigal All creatures now, with his main compositional inspiration coming from Morley. There are ample instances in this delightful piece for text-painting: we are immediately urged in rising scales to 'run up apace the mountain', and the parts chase each other in so doing before gently settling to see the view. There, 'love laid to rest' is observed, enough to encourage us to 'haste hence', A with T and S with B, before a short triple-time dance.
Farmer Fair Phyllis
or YouTube Also in the Oxford Book of English Madrigals SATB
Fair Phyllis dates from 1599 and is a polyphonic romp in Arcadian meadows, with a fair amount of ribaldry thrown in for good measure. It alternates between duple and triple time and contains some clever word-painting: solo sopranos 'all alone', tutti 'feeding her flock' and some wry elision on 'kissing up and down'. 'Hied' is an archaic way of saying 'hurried'.
Palestrina Quando dal terzo Cielo
or YouTube SSATTB
We don't perform non-English madrigals all that often, but I am super-keen on this one, partly because it is exquisite, partly because it is a Palestrina anniversary (likely b. 1525), and partly it is from the collection Il trionfo di Dori that inspired Morley's Triumphs of Oriana.
Commissioned by the Venetian nobleman Leonardo Sanudo in 1592, the madrigals in the collection extol the virtues of Sanudo's wife through the alter ego of the sea-nymph Dori, daughter of Oceanus, the divine personification of the sea. Each madrigal in the collection ends with a resounding 'Viva la bella Dori'.
When from the third heaven
a benevolent star, Dori, came down to earth
than whom no lovelier nymph
e'er donned a veil of mortal flesh,
to the graces and to the gods of love
joyfully said Cupid: "Oh, for this lady,
how many souls and how many hearts,
how many lavish trophies shall we have in Arcady!
Now behold, on these golden, illustrious shores,
how many noble shepherds
Make the air, the earth, and the sea resound!
Long live fair Dori!".
We have it in our library as 'When from the realm' but the text is not that easy to read and so I propose singing it in Italian.
Tomkins See, see the shepherds' queen
or YouTube Also in the Oxford Book of English Madrigals SSATB
A lively ballet, from Songs of 3,4,5 and 6 parts of 1622. Although it looks lengthy, it is in fact in three sections each sung twice, identical except that the soprano lines swap around for each second appearance.
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.
Tomkins Holy, holy, holy SSATB
This piece, new to us, is from 'Musica Deo sacra', an anthology compiled by Nathaniel Tomkins of his father's compositions. Thomas Tomkins was associated with Worcester Cathedral, was master of the choristers and also as organist, for over 50 years, until the outbreak of the Civil War. For over 30 years he held a simultaneous post at the Chapel Royal; quite how he managed the two can only be imagined!
There are no on-line videos I can find, and at the time of writing I have ordered but not yet received the music. But I have chosen the piece for a reason - see if you can work it out before the end of the meeting...
Stop press - Ruth found this YouTube which is part of a recording of an old LP record.
Bateson Those sweet, delightful lilies
or YouTube 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. It's a lovely piece. The composer seems perhaps to regret having gifted flowers to his Phyllis, as the semi-obligatory (and exquisite) languish/anguish moment suggests.
Bennett Come shepherds follow me
or YouTube SATB
John Bennet (sometimes spelled 'Benet') is best known for the much-loved Oriana madrigal All creatures now, with his main compositional inspiration coming from Morley. There are ample instances in this delightful piece for text-painting: we are immediately urged in rising scales to 'run up apace the mountain', and the parts chase each other in so doing before gently settling to see the view. There, 'love laid to rest' is observed, enough to encourage us to 'haste hence', A with T and S with B, before a short triple-time dance.
Farmer Fair Phyllis
or YouTube Also in the Oxford Book of English Madrigals SATB
Fair Phyllis dates from 1599 and is a polyphonic romp in Arcadian meadows, with a fair amount of ribaldry thrown in for good measure. It alternates between duple and triple time and contains some clever word-painting: solo sopranos 'all alone', tutti 'feeding her flock' and some wry elision on 'kissing up and down'. 'Hied' is an archaic way of saying 'hurried'.
Palestrina Quando dal terzo Cielo
or YouTube SSATTB
We don't perform non-English madrigals all that often, but I am super-keen on this one, partly because it is exquisite, partly because it is a Palestrina anniversary (likely b. 1525), and partly it is from the collection Il trionfo di Dori that inspired Morley's Triumphs of Oriana.
Commissioned by the Venetian nobleman Leonardo Sanudo in 1592, the madrigals in the collection extol the virtues of Sanudo's wife through the alter ego of the sea-nymph Dori, daughter of Oceanus, the divine personification of the sea. Each madrigal in the collection ends with a resounding 'Viva la bella Dori'.
When from the third heaven
a benevolent star, Dori, came down to earth
than whom no lovelier nymph
e'er donned a veil of mortal flesh,
to the graces and to the gods of love
joyfully said Cupid: "Oh, for this lady,
how many souls and how many hearts,
how many lavish trophies shall we have in Arcady!
Now behold, on these golden, illustrious shores,
how many noble shepherds
Make the air, the earth, and the sea resound!
Long live fair Dori!".
We have it in our library as 'When from the realm' but the text is not that easy to read and so I propose singing it in Italian.
Tomkins See, see the shepherds' queen
or YouTube Also in the Oxford Book of English Madrigals SSATB
A lively ballet, from Songs of 3,4,5 and 6 parts of 1622. Although it looks lengthy, it is in fact in three sections each sung twice, identical except that the soprano lines swap around for each second appearance.
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.
Tomkins Holy, holy, holy SSATB
This piece, new to us, is from 'Musica Deo sacra', an anthology compiled by Nathaniel Tomkins of his father's compositions. Thomas Tomkins was associated with Worcester Cathedral, was master of the choristers and also as organist, for over 50 years, until the outbreak of the Civil War. For over 30 years he held a simultaneous post at the Chapel Royal; quite how he managed the two can only be imagined!
There are no on-line videos I can find, and at the time of writing I have ordered but not yet received the music. But I have chosen the piece for a reason - see if you can work it out before the end of the meeting...
Stop press - Ruth found this YouTube which is part of a recording of an old LP record.
Bateson Those sweet, delightful lilies
or YouTube 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. It's a lovely piece. The composer seems perhaps to regret having gifted flowers to his Phyllis, as the semi-obligatory (and exquisite) languish/anguish moment suggests.
Bennett Come shepherds follow me
or YouTube SATB
John Bennet (sometimes spelled 'Benet') is best known for the much-loved Oriana madrigal All creatures now, with his main compositional inspiration coming from Morley. There are ample instances in this delightful piece for text-painting: we are immediately urged in rising scales to 'run up apace the mountain', and the parts chase each other in so doing before gently settling to see the view. There, 'love laid to rest' is observed, enough to encourage us to 'haste hence', A with T and S with B, before a short triple-time dance.
Farmer Fair Phyllis
or YouTube Also in the Oxford Book of English Madrigals SATB
Fair Phyllis dates from 1599 and is a polyphonic romp in Arcadian meadows, with a fair amount of ribaldry thrown in for good measure. It alternates between duple and triple time and contains some clever word-painting: solo sopranos 'all alone', tutti 'feeding her flock' and some wry elision on 'kissing up and down'. 'Hied' is an archaic way of saying 'hurried'.
Palestrina Quando dal terzo Cielo
or YouTube SSATTB
We don't perform non-English madrigals all that often, but I am super-keen on this one, partly because it is exquisite, partly because it is a Palestrina anniversary (likely b. 1525), and partly it is from the collection Il trionfo di Dori that inspired Morley's Triumphs of Oriana.
Commissioned by the Venetian nobleman Leonardo Sanudo in 1592, the madrigals in the collection extol the virtues of Sanudo's wife through the alter ego of the sea-nymph Dori, daughter of Oceanus, the divine personification of the sea. Each madrigal in the collection ends with a resounding 'Viva la bella Dori'.
When from the third heaven
a benevolent star, Dori, came down to earth
than whom no lovelier nymph
e'er donned a veil of mortal flesh,
to the graces and to the gods of love
joyfully said Cupid: "Oh, for this lady,
how many souls and how many hearts,
how many lavish trophies shall we have in Arcady!
Now behold, on these golden, illustrious shores,
how many noble shepherds
Make the air, the earth, and the sea resound!
Long live fair Dori!".
We have it in our library as 'When from the realm' but the text is not that easy to read and so I propose singing it in Italian.
Tomkins See, see the shepherds' queen
or YouTube Also in the Oxford Book of English Madrigals SSATB
A lively ballet, from Songs of 3,4,5 and 6 parts of 1622. Although it looks lengthy, it is in fact in three sections each sung twice, identical except that the soprano lines swap around for each second appearance.
