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 2'50" only) SSATB
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 Practiall Musicke
(1597) - a lesson in how to write such powerful polyphony, perhaps?
Festa Down in a flow'ry vale or YouTube SATB
Looking through our lists for some fresh inspiration I came across this delightful piece. I'm not sure why we haven't done it before - possibly as it is rather straightforward - but now seems the perfect time to look at it. It seems to be an adaptation by Thomas Oliphant of the composer's Quando ritrovo la mia pastorella. Phyllis is only interested in the wooings of rich suitors, but our protagonist is not.
Gibbons Trust not too much, fair youth or YouTube SSATB
From the First set of Madrigals and Motets of 1612. This exquisite piece we met for the first time only a couple of years ago and it well deserves another visit. It is a life lesson, cautioning against the vanity of physical beauty, using the fleeting vanity of 'sweet violets' and 'white primit' (a type of hedge) as metaphors for human ageing. Gibbons masterfully weaves the vocal lines into a dense texture that mirrors the gravity of the text, balancing technical mastery with a timeless reflection on mortality.
Note we will use the version in our library and not that in the Oxford Book of English Madrigals.
Farmer A little pretty bonny lass
or YouTube SATB
As with the composer's famous 'Fair Phyllis', this lively madrigal is set in the fields. Unusually, the man tells the story about one who got away. It features a rather fresh suitor whose passions reach a climax at a rapid tongue-twisting 'yet still she said I should not' - imitative perhaps of her brusque refusal (although the rejection doesn't seem terribly upsetting!).
Wilbye The Lady Oriana
or YouTube SSATTB
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. John Wilbye's style is distinguished by refined vocal writing, acute sensitivity to text, and a seriousness tempered by subtle musical invention. Employed for much of his career as resident musician to a wealthy Suffolk household of artistic patrons, Wilbye devoted himself largely to the madrigal and is widely regarded as the finest English practitioner of the genre. The Lady Oriana, a six-voice tribute to Queen Elizabeth I, exemplifies his sophisticated architectural control and elegant word-painting. Rich, florid counterpoint evokes 'the treasures of Guiana', while cascading vocal entries illustrate the 'thousand Graces' in ceremonial gesture. The work concludes with a radiant setting of the refrain, 'Long live fair Oriana', combining rhythmic energy with majestic harmonic splendour.
Weelkes To shorten winter's sadness
or YouTube SSATB
This is a lively ballet. References to 'mumming' are probably to mummers' plays, some of which commemorate Plough Monday, the first Monday of Epiphany, celebrating the death of winter and the triumph of spring. The word means masking or concealing one's identity for a performance.
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 2'50" only) SSATB
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 Practiall Musicke
(1597) - a lesson in how to write such powerful polyphony, perhaps?
Festa Down in a flow'ry vale or YouTube SATB
Looking through our lists for some fresh inspiration I came across this delightful piece. I'm not sure why we haven't done it before - possibly as it is rather straightforward - but now seems the perfect time to look at it. It seems to be an adaptation by Thomas Oliphant of the composer's Quando ritrovo la mia pastorella. Phyllis is only interested in the wooings of rich suitors, but our protagonist is not.
Gibbons Trust not too much, fair youth or YouTube SSATB
From the First set of Madrigals and Motets of 1612. This exquisite piece we met for the first time only a couple of years ago and it well deserves another visit. It is a life lesson, cautioning against the vanity of physical beauty, using the fleeting vanity of 'sweet violets' and 'white primit' (a type of hedge) as metaphors for human ageing. Gibbons masterfully weaves the vocal lines into a dense texture that mirrors the gravity of the text, balancing technical mastery with a timeless reflection on mortality.
Note we will use the version in our library and not that in the Oxford Book of English Madrigals.
Farmer A little pretty bonny lass
or YouTube SATB
As with the composer's famous 'Fair Phyllis', this lively madrigal is set in the fields. Unusually, the man tells the story about one who got away. It features a rather fresh suitor whose passions reach a climax at a rapid tongue-twisting 'yet still she said I should not' - imitative perhaps of her brusque refusal (although the rejection doesn't seem terribly upsetting!).
Wilbye The Lady Oriana
or YouTube SSATTB
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. John Wilbye's style is distinguished by refined vocal writing, acute sensitivity to text, and a seriousness tempered by subtle musical invention. Employed for much of his career as resident musician to a wealthy Suffolk household of artistic patrons, Wilbye devoted himself largely to the madrigal and is widely regarded as the finest English practitioner of the genre. The Lady Oriana, a six-voice tribute to Queen Elizabeth I, exemplifies his sophisticated architectural control and elegant word-painting. Rich, florid counterpoint evokes 'the treasures of Guiana', while cascading vocal entries illustrate the 'thousand Graces' in ceremonial gesture. The work concludes with a radiant setting of the refrain, 'Long live fair Oriana', combining rhythmic energy with majestic harmonic splendour.
Weelkes To shorten winter's sadness
or YouTube SSATB
This is a lively ballet. References to 'mumming' are probably to mummers' plays, some of which commemorate Plough Monday, the first Monday of Epiphany, celebrating the death of winter and the triumph of spring. The word means masking or concealing one's identity for a performance.
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 2'50" only) SSATB
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 Practiall Musicke
(1597) - a lesson in how to write such powerful polyphony, perhaps?
Festa Down in a flow'ry vale or YouTube SATB
Looking through our lists for some fresh inspiration I came across this delightful piece. I'm not sure why we haven't done it before - possibly as it is rather straightforward - but now seems the perfect time to look at it. It seems to be an adaptation by Thomas Oliphant of the composer's Quando ritrovo la mia pastorella. Phyllis is only interested in the wooings of rich suitors, but our protagonist is not.
Gibbons Trust not too much, fair youth or YouTube SSATB
From the First set of Madrigals and Motets of 1612. This exquisite piece we met for the first time only a couple of years ago and it well deserves another visit. It is a life lesson, cautioning against the vanity of physical beauty, using the fleeting vanity of 'sweet violets' and 'white primit' (a type of hedge) as metaphors for human ageing. Gibbons masterfully weaves the vocal lines into a dense texture that mirrors the gravity of the text, balancing technical mastery with a timeless reflection on mortality.
Note we will use the version in our library and not that in the Oxford Book of English Madrigals.
Farmer A little pretty bonny lass
or YouTube SATB
As with the composer's famous 'Fair Phyllis', this lively madrigal is set in the fields. Unusually, the man tells the story about one who got away. It features a rather fresh suitor whose passions reach a climax at a rapid tongue-twisting 'yet still she said I should not' - imitative perhaps of her brusque refusal (although the rejection doesn't seem terribly upsetting!).
Wilbye The Lady Oriana
or YouTube SSATTB
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. John Wilbye's style is distinguished by refined vocal writing, acute sensitivity to text, and a seriousness tempered by subtle musical invention. Employed for much of his career as resident musician to a wealthy Suffolk household of artistic patrons, Wilbye devoted himself largely to the madrigal and is widely regarded as the finest English practitioner of the genre. The Lady Oriana, a six-voice tribute to Queen Elizabeth I, exemplifies his sophisticated architectural control and elegant word-painting. Rich, florid counterpoint evokes 'the treasures of Guiana', while cascading vocal entries illustrate the 'thousand Graces' in ceremonial gesture. The work concludes with a radiant setting of the refrain, 'Long live fair Oriana', combining rhythmic energy with majestic harmonic splendour.
Weelkes To shorten winter's sadness
or YouTube SSATB
This is a lively ballet. References to 'mumming' are probably to mummers' plays, some of which commemorate Plough Monday, the first Monday of Epiphany, celebrating the death of winter and the triumph of spring. The word means masking or concealing one's identity for a performance.
