IN CHAINS OF GOLD 8 Look and bow down EP & ZB (verses) HT, MM, SB, NM, HMSC [6.01] The English Pre-Restoration Verse HH, BH, GS, SG, PH, WG SW

VOLUME 2 9 Almighty God, which by the leading of a star EP, EM, SB, FW [4.42] WILLIAM BYRD TO EDMUND HOOPER: HH, SG, PH AND ROYAL 0 Fantasia (No. 16) - SW [1.13] John Bull

q Deliver me, O God HH & BH (verses) EP, MM SW [4.21] Track Singers instruments John Bull NM, SB, GS, SG, PH, WG 1 Hear my prayer EP (verses), MM, SB, FW [3.25] w Voluntary (No. 3) - SW [1.47] William Byrd GS, SG, PH 2 O Lord, rebuke me not EP (verses) EM, SB, FW [4.59] e Out of the deep SB (verses) EP, MM, NM, HH, SW [3.48] William Byrd GS, SG, PH BH, GS, SG, PH, WG 3 Have mercy upon me, O God ZB (verses) EP, BH, FW [4.03] r Voluntary (No. 1) - SW [2.19] William Byrd SG, GS, PH Benjamin Cosyn 4 Fantasia (No. 46) - SW [4.26] t Hearken ye nations EP, MM, SB, FW [5.59] William Byrd Edmund Hooper HH, PH, WG 5 Teach me, O Lord EP (verses) ZB, MM, SB, NM, SW [3.11] y Sing Joyfully PH (verses) EP, SB FW [4.44] William Byrd HH, BH, GS, SG, PH, WG HH, SG 6 Christ rising again EM & EP (verses) SB, GS, FW [5.21] u O God of gods MM, EP, HH, BH & SG (verses) HMSC [6.16] William Byrd SG, PH Edmund Hooper SB, NM, GS, PH, WG SW, WL 7 I will give laud MM, EP, PH, FW [3.51] William Byrd HH, WG Total timings: [70.29] Magdalena Consort, director Peter Harvey: Byrd, his younger contemporaries, and the Byrd’s attraction to these texts seems natural, Zoë Brookshaw (ZB) & Helena Thomson (HT) - Triplex roots of Versus and Chorus not only because of his well known truculent Elisabeth Paul (EP), Martha McLorinan (MM) & Eleanor Minney (EM) - Mean Catholicism, but also because—as a royal Samuel Boden (SB), Benedict Hymas (BH), Hugo Hymas (HH) & Nicholas Madden (NM) - Contratenor More than any composer before him, William patentee with exclusive rights to the importation Greg Skidmore (GS) & Simon Gallear (SG) - Tenor Byrd catered prolifically to a wide variety of of printed music—he was as likely as anyone in Peter Harvey (PH) & Will Gaunt (WG) - Bassus musicians. Connoisseurs of Latin at home to have been cognisant of the great (FW) and abroad, troupes of boy actors with their Orlandus Lassus’ settings of the seven psalms, Asako Morikawa, Emily Ashton, Jo Levine, Susanna Pell, Sam Stadlen & Richard Boothby - viols and their unbroken voices, solo keyboard published at Munich in 1584. Metrical His Majestys Sagbutts & (HMSC) players, the of the established English paraphrases of the same psalms, set for three Jeremy West, Jamie Savan & Helen Roberts – cornetts church, and the underground ensembles of voices, form the first seven items of Byrd’s Sue Addison, Stephanie Dyer & Stephen Saunders – Catholic households where mass was celebrated own Songs of sundrie natures printed in 1589. in secret—performers of all these kinds could Given the composer’s track record of seeing William Lyons (WL) – dulcian look to Byrd for quantities, in some cases vast, large-scale projects through to completion, Silas Wollston (SW) – organ of music of the highest excellence. it is quite probable that the three present William Hunt – Artistic Director belonged originally to a The three items that open the present collection cycle of all seven, each (as with Lassus’ belong to the intimate domestic sphere of settings) in a different mode. www.orlandogibbonsproject.co.uk www.signumrecords.com private devotion. Each is a setting of the opening verses of one of the Seven Penitential Hard it may be to accept that four such psalms Psalms, a selection from the psalter that had by Byrd have been lost, yet ‘Hear my prayer, “... to return to the expressing of the ditty, the matter is now come to that state that though a song be become well known to the faithful by its inclusion O Lord’ 1 and ‘O Lord, rebuke me not’ 2 never so well made and never so aptly applied to the words yet shall you hardly find singers to express in the ‘primers’ or personal prayer manuals both owe their survival to having been adapted it as it ought to be, for most of our churchmen, so they can cry louder in their than their fellows, that were hugely popular during the reigns of for use in church (with organ accompaniment), care for no more, whereas by the contrary they ought to study how to vowel and sing clean, expressing Henry VIII and Mary I. Even in primers printed while the parts of ‘Have mercy upon me, their words with devotion and passion whereby to draw the hearer, as it were, in chains of gold by during Elizabeth’s reign, which inevitably O God’ 3 are extant only because the composer the ears to the consideration of holy things.” assimilated the reforms of the Book of Common printed them in his Psalmes, Songs, and Prayer, the seven psalms lingered on, a whiff— of 1611. It is therefore likely that these psalms Thomas Morley ‘Plaine and Easie Introduction to Practical Musick’ (1597) maybe not so innocuous—of old Popery in a date from late in Byrd’s career, when the attention Cover image - Allegory of Eloquence, after Dürer (c. 1503) newly Protestant world. of music copyists was shifting from Tudor

- 4 - - 5 - contrapuntal rigour to the more instant are alternated between soloist and chorus, texts and an unvarying musical form, each of his Counter-Reformation forces would be perceived melodic appeal of music like John Mundy’s and that of courtly metrical psalms (such as psalm-settings could in its own contrasting way as divine providence: accordingly on 24 home-entertainment psalm ‘Sing joyfully’ y. ‘I will give laud’ 7), where the chorus repeats evoke the single affect of sorrow for sin. November the Queen entered the merely the last few words of each solo strophe. in state, for the first time since her accession Byrd’s three psalm settings are all cast in a The more public facets of Byrd’s œuvre are thirty years and one week previously, to offer form, almost completely unknown elsewhere in It is true that Byrd’s method of block repetition represented by further settings of English thanks at St Paul’s Cathedral. the music of the period, in which all the words— has a certain parallel in the once widespread vernacular texts. ‘Teach me, O Lord’ is one of and to a great extent the melody, harmony and practice of ‘lining out’, whereby each line of a several liturgical psalms composed probably Both poems may have appeared in print within cadences—of each solo passage are directly metrical psalm was read by the parish clerk for the choir of during the weeks of the thanksgiving, for they are repeated by the chorus. This contrasts markedly and echoed parrot-fashion by the congregation. time Byrd directed it in the 1560s. ‘Christ rising’ included (with attributions to Elizabeth) in with the form of liturgical psalms (such as Byrd’s Yet such mechanicalness can hardly have been 6 can be dated to the early 1580s, and was a 17th-century reissue of The Countrie Mans own ‘Teach me, O Lord’ 5 and Thomas Morley’s further from Byrd’s thoughts as he imagined presumably intended for the pious entertainment Comfort, an anthology originally licensed for ‘Out of the deep’ e), where successive verses how, despite the constraints of homogenous of Elizabeth’s court at Eastertide just as John publication on 16 December 1588. Since not one Bull’s ‘Almighty God, which by the leading of a copy printed at the time of licensing survives, star’ 9 was intended for ; both pieces and the title page of the reissue describes the went on to enjoy wide circulation in chapels and contents as ‘enlarged’, it is not certain that cathedrals with their accompaniments adapted the royal poems formed part of the 1588 for organ. The sprightly ‘I will give laud’, though collection. Yet an assertion by the editor (one not a dance per se, serves as a reminder that ‘I. R.’) that ‘Look and bow down’ was ‘performed English metrical psalms sprang from the at Sainte Pauls crosse in London’ is corroborated courtly milieu of the galliard. and amplified by an independent source. A manuscript of the same poem—once owned There are quite clear indications that Byrd’s by the distinguished legal historian Sir Henry ‘Look and bow down’ 8 and John Bull’s Spelman (1563/4–1641), and now held at the ‘Deliver me, O God’ q are settings of words National Maritime Museum (ref. SNG/4)—is written by none other than Queen headed, in the hand of the original scribe, during the highly charged months of the 1588 ‘A songe made by her ma[jes]tie and songe before Armada crisis. Her ministers were anxious her at her cominge from white hall to Powles that the narrow escape from invasion by throughe fleetestre[et] Anno D[omi]ni 1588’.

- 6 - - 7 - Elements of the poem appear intimately only a national crisis but also a deeply the ‘I. R.’ of The Countrie Mans Comfort)— imperishable ‘body politic’ whilst disregarding connected with the solemnities of 24 personal one. describes it as ‘An Antheme often Sung in the the Protestantism of her legally distinct November. The ‘sacrifice’ of the royal sceptre Royall Chappel of our late Queene Elizabeth ‘body natural’. mentioned at the end of the first stanza can be Though music was played and pageants in any time of danger: Made in Anno. Dom. 1588’. linked to the Queen’s arrival at Temple Bar, the were performed throughout the Fleet Street Reconstructions reigning monarch’s historic point of entrance procession, modern scholars concur that a Whereas ‘Look and bow down’ is a consort song to the city. There, following ancient custom, performance of Byrd’s setting of ‘Look and bow for chorister voices lavishly accompanied by four Instrumental accompaniments for the solo Elizabeth temporarily surrendered her sceptre down’ would most likely have taken place in instruments, ‘Deliver me, O God’ is a church passages of two of Byrd’s penitential psalms to the Lord Mayor in exchange for a sword of St Paul’s churchyard following the cathedral anthem in which paired contratenor voices are have been reconstructed from arrangements the corporation which was borne before her service and a sermon delivered by the Bishop bordered by the two widely separated strands found in two contemporary organ books. in the ensuing procession. On reaching the of Salisbury from the famous outdoor pulpit of an organ part. Despite these differences of Och MS Mus. 6 adumbrates three of the four west door of St Paul’s, she was greeted by known as ‘Powles Crosse’. From remarks in texture, the composers of both works employed viol parts for ‘Hear my prayer, O Lord’, while clergy decked in obsolete copes salvaged two contemporary ballads, it seems there vocal duets, Byrd in his third stanza by NYp MS Drexel 5469 supplies the instrumental from the . Thus the poem’s was then singing by the cathedral choristers. bringing together the soloists from his first bass only for ‘O Lord, rebuke me not’. The references to priests, incense and sacrifice The customary indoor accompaniment of viol and second stanzas, and Bull persistently in voice parts of both anthems are transmitted are more than merely figurative. quartet would necessarily have been substituted alternation with passages for full chorus. in John Barnard’s First Book of Selected with a wind ensemble, then as now the preferred Church Musick of 1641, and those of ‘Hear Indeed, those references, like the procession medium of open-air music making. At first glance these duets seem hardly to be my prayer, O Lord’ also in some two dozen itself, inalienably connoted the traditions of warranted by the poetry itself, which is pre-Restoration manuscripts. England’s Catholic past, and can hardly Scholars are less than unanimous in accepting expressed in the first person singular. They have been calculated to appeal to the Calvinist the attribution to Elizabeth of the words may not be unconnected, however, with the Och MS Mus. 6 is also the sole source to wing of the new religious establishment. Might of ‘Deliver me, O God’. Though there is no Tudor doctrine of ‘the king’s two bodies’, an transmit an organ part for Byrd’s ‘Teach me, therefore the poem even have been addressed evidence that it was performed during the arcane yet unanswerable legal fiction devised O Lord’, but its texture is neither consistent to that precarious constituency of the Queen’s state thanksgiving, Bull’s setting may well be to settle questions surrounding the ownership nor idiomatic. The right-hand part of the subjects who accorded her unyielding loyalty contemporaneous, the composer having become a and testation of non-crown property by the accompaniment to the solo passages has in matters temporal, but in matters spiritual gentleman of the royal household chapel monarch. The same doctrine also represented therefore been re-imagined in the style of better were unyieldingly loyal to the Pope? For such choir in 1586. The earliest known source of its a sort of resolution to the conflicting loyalties preserved verse compositions by , Catholics, of whom Byrd was one, the threat text—a pamphlet published in the wake of the of Elizabeth’s Catholic subjects, allowing them , Byrd and Morley. of a papally backed invasion had been not by John Rhodes (not necessarily to profess unflinching allegiance to her

- 8 - - 9 - Byrd’s ‘I will give laud’ and ‘Look and bow occasion, though in very different styles. the repertoire of the period. down’ have been reconstructed from the O God of gods, written for the ‘King’s Day’ Indeed, modern critics have found difficulty in Spanish tablature of Edward Paston’s (being the anniversary of succession of James assessing his style, and its ability to combine -book Lbl Add. MS 31992. The treble I) is on a grand scale. Three verses, adapting dense counterpoint with powerful oratory. Major viol part of the former, and the uppermost lines by Sir George Buc, Master of the Revels, and minor harmonies are hurled into dissonant voice part of vv. 2 and 3 of the latter, are blend prayer and psalm with epideictic rhetoric, collision in cadences that border occasionally absent from the tablature, having been notated subtly laced with propaganda, to celebrate on musical hysteria, to express both the horror in a companion manuscript which—like the James’ divine right to the throne vacated by and the relief of carnage narrowly avoided. original instrumental parts for both pieces—has Elizabeth and his project to unify the crowns of Its performance, probably in the Chapel Royal long since disappeared. England and Scotland. That very act of union is before the full court on the first anniversary of symbolised by Hooper in an impressive coup de the event, the newly commemorated ‘Gunpowder ©2019 Andrew Johnstone théâtre, whereby the final chorus at first divides Treason Day’, may well have been heard into a lengthy passage of full antiphony, worthy alongside one of the most celebrated sermons of St Mark’s Venice and far exceeding in of James’ favourite preacher, Lancelot Andrewes, Hooper and the ‘occasional’ anthem scope anything comparable in English choral of which it contains striking echoes. Hooper writing of the period, and then reunites takes forward that fusion of the learned and The name of Edmund Hooper is relatively for a magnificent ‘, Amen’. The sources the theatrical that underlies the verse anthem unfamiliar today, yet it is clear that in his own in which the work survives point to later form, one to which Gibbons was to give time he was highly regarded. Born in Devon, he adaptation for church use, but our performance unparalleled poetic flowering, and which rose through the world of sacred choral music seeks to recreate one of the possible ways in Hooper invests with an extravagance that is to become Master of the Choristers at which it might have received its first airing, no less ‘baroque’. in 1588 and was later perhaps at court. appointed a Gentleman of the Chapel Royal, ©2019 William Hunt where he and worked together Hearken, ye nations could hardly present more as joint organists until their deaths in 1621 stark a contrast. Little more than two years and 1625 respectively. after James’ accession, Hooper was called upon to mark the outrage of the Gunpowder Plot His two works performed here display the of 1605. He produced music of raw intensity, dramatic flair appropriate to a major state which defies comparison with anything in

- 10 - - 11 - The Orlando Gibbons Project in solo pieces by William Byrd, John Bull and TEXTS 3 Have mercy upon me, O God Benjamin Cosyn.3 In contrast to the gentle, flute The project was launched in 2016 with the sonorities usually heard today in this repertoire 1 Hear my prayer, O Lord Have mercy upon me O God, after thy great aim of making a first complete recording of on anachronistic instruments, the more pungent goodness. the consort anthems of Orlando Gibbons, as quality of its metal principal pipes, combined Hear my prayer, O Lord, and consider my desire: And according to the multitude of thy mercies Volume 1 of a series ‘In Chains of Gold’, to be with the comparatively sparse texture of the hearken unto me for thy truth and righteousness wipe away mine offences. devoted to the wider field of pre-Restoration original organ parts (shorn of their usual editorial sake. Wash me clean from my wickedness, verse anthem repertoire. It was released in 2017 filling) produce distinct solo voices in their own And enter not into judgment with thy servant: and purge me from my sins. (SIGCD511) to critical acclaim, including the right. They converse on equal terms with the for in thy sight shall no man living be justified. Amen. accolade ‘Gramophone Critics’ Choice 2017’. solo singers in verse sections (as well as Psalm 143 Psalm 51 In this second volume, exploring early examples supporting with a 10-foot stop the bassline of of music in ‘verse style’, we continue the chorus sections at the lower octave) and seem 2 O Lord, rebuke me not 5 Teach me, O Lord practice established in the first, performing to encourage a bolder, more rhetorical approach in the original keys at A466, this being a close to the music. In the two large occasional pieces,4 O Lord, rebuke me not in thine indignation: Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes: practical approximation to the level established cornetts and sackbuts are added, (too seldom neither chasten me in thy displeasure. and I shall keep it unto the end. by recent research into English choir and heard today in English early 17th-century choral Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am weak: Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law: organ pitch of the period.1 As we found on the music, but clearly documented as frequent O Lord, heal me, for my bones are vexed. yea, I shall keep it with my whole heart. Gibbons recording, the vocal ranges of the participants in both cathedral and court Turn thee, O Lord, and deliver my soul: Make me to go in the path of thy commandments: music make a perfect fit at this pitch with performance)5 and, towards the end of the final O save me, for thy Name’s sake. for therein is my desire. historical voice types, such as ‘contratenors’ track, a tenor dulcian. Such a variety of vivid Amen. Incline my heart unto thy testimonies: (high, light tenors rather than falsettist altos) colours may still surprise those for whom the and not unto covetousness. Psalm 6 and this results in an intense clarity in the broad term ‘Tudor church music’ evokes polite middle of the vocal texture. We also use the understatement, but the evidence for it is there 1 same consort of smaller-scale English viols, in contemporary illustrations, such as the See Andrew Johnstone, “As it was in the beginning’: organ and choir pitch in early Anglican church music’, ‘ xxxi/4’ (November 2003) 2 But note that one anthem, ‘Hearken ye nations’, seems clearly intended for a lower ‘secular’ pitch, and for this we use the richer and specially restrung for A466, whose translucent decorative carvings on a door-post of the darker sonority of a correspondingly larger consort of viols at A392. (On varying pitch standards in consort anthems, see William Hunt, sonority seems to us well suited to this repertoire.2 Charterhouse Chapel,6 and recorded in witness Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, PhD thesis forthcoming.) To these we have added the strikingly characterful accounts. It is part of an English Baroque 3 See illustration page 25. One of the posts held by Benjamin Cosyn was Organist of The Charterhouse, on which see more below. 4 sound of a reconstructed ‘Tudor organ’, which that remains largely unknown. William Byrd ‘Look and bow down’ and Edmund Hooper ‘O God of gods’ (tracks 8 and 17). 5 See Helen Roberts, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, PhD thesis 2019. can be heard in a number of the anthems and ©2019 William Hunt 6 See illustration page 11.

- 12 - - 13 - O turn away mine eyes, lest they behold vanity: 7 I will give laud that nothing them deface. My soul ascend his holy place, and quicken thou me in thy word. 8. Taste and consider well, therefore, Ascribe him strength and sing him praise; O stablish thy word in thy servant: 1. I will give laud and honour both that God is good and just: For he restraineth princes’ sp’rits, that I may fear thee. unto the Lord always: O happy man, that maketh him And hath done wonders in my days. Glory be to the Father and to the Son, And eke my mouth for evermore his only stay and trust. He made the winds and waters rise and to the Holy Ghost. shall speak unto his praise. 9. Fear ye the Lord, his holy ones, To scatter all mine enemies. As it was in the beginning, and is now, 2. I do delight to laud the Lord, Above all earthly thing: and ever shall be, in soul and eke in voice: For they that fear the living Lord, ‘Tis Joseph’s Lord and Israel’s God, world without end. That humble men and mortified are sure to lack nothing. The fiery pillar and day’s cloud: Amen. may hear and so rejoice. 10. The lions shall be hunger-bit That saved his saints from wicked men, 3. Therefore see that ye magnify and pined with famine much: And drench’d the honour of the proud: : 33-38 with me the living Lord: But as for them that fear the Lord, He hath preserved now in love And let us now exalt his Name 6 no lack shall be to such. The soul of me his turtledove. Christ rising again together with one accord. 4. For I myself besought the Lord; Words attributed to Queen Elizabeth I Christ rising again from the dead now dieth not. * i.e. immediately, without delay he answ’red me again: Death from henceforth hath no power upon him. 9 And me deliv’red incontinent* Verses from psalm 34 Almighty God, which by the leading of a star For in that he died, he died but once to put away sin, paraphrased by Thomas Sternhold from all my fear and pain. but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Almighty God, which by the leading of a star 5. Whoso they be that him behold And so likewise count yourselves dead 8 Look and bow down did’st manifest thy only begotten Son to the shall see his light most clear: unto sin but living unto God, Gentiles, Their countenance shall not be dash’d, In Christ Jesus our Lord. Look and bow down thine ear, O Lord, Mercifully grant that we which know Thee now they need it not to fear. From thy bright sphere behold and see by faith, 6. This silly wretch, for some relief, Christ is risen again, the first fruits of them that sleep. Thy handmaid and thy handiwork may after this life have the fruition of thy unto the Lord did call: For seeing that by man came death, Amongst thy priests, off’ring to thee glorious Godhead, Who did him hear without delay, by man also cometh the resurrection of the dead. Zeal for incense, reaching the skies, through Christ our Lord. and rid him out of thrall. For as in Adam all men do die, My self and sceptre sacrifice. Amen. so by Christ shall all men be restored to life. 7. The angel of the Lord doth pitch Amen. his tents in ev’ry place: Book of Common Prayer, collect for Epiphany To save all such as fear the Lord, Romans 6: 9–11, I Corinthians 15: 20–22

- 14 - - 15 - q Deliver me, O God e Out of the deep t Hearken ye nations y Sing joyfully

Deliver me, O God, Out of the deep have I called unto thee O Lord: Hearken, ye nations, O come see and hear, Sing joyfully unto God our strength, From all my foes that be Lord hear my voice. all ye that serve the Lord in truth and fear, make a cheerful noise to the god of Jacob. And me defend, and those withstand O let thine ears consider well: and we will show, what wonders his high hand Take the psalm, bring hither the tabret, That riseth against me. the voice of my complaint. hath done unto our souls and to this land: the merry with the lute. Our king anointed, with his blessed seed, Blow the in the new moon, Deliver me also If thou, Lord, wilt be extreme to mark our sacred prophets, that our souls do feed, even in the time appointed From those that wicked be, what is done amiss: our honourable senate, judges, peers and upon our solemn feast-day. From such as thirsteth after blood, O Lord, who may abide it? men, women, children of all sorts of years, For this was made a statute for Israel Good Lord, deliver me. For there is mercy with thee: and a law of the god of Jacob. therefore shalt thou be feared. this day our God from foes’ bloodthirsty ire, Psalm 81: 1–4 Mine enemies be strong, hath saved, as brands new taken from the fire: Thou Lord, the same doth see I look for the Lord; This is the day Himself made; O rejoice u O God of gods Without offence upon my part, my soul doth wait for him: and sing his praises with a cheerful voice. They still do trouble me. in his word is my trust. O God of gods, O King of kings, My soul flyeth unto the Lord: Consider this, ye true of heart and wise, Eternal father of all things, My self, my soul and all before the morning watch It is God’s work and wondrous in our eyes: in heaven above and everywhere I did commit to thee, I say before the morning watch. He sends his terrors to affright, not kill; by whom all kings their sceptres bear, From traps, from snares, from bloody hands, as signs more of his power than of his will. Great God of James our blessed king Good Lord, deliver me. O Israel, trust in the Lord, O may our Moses trust in him, his tower, who peace and joy to us did bring, Amen. for with the Lord there is mercy: and all our Aarons magnify his power: and with him is plenteous redemption. He is our shield. May no unhallowed arm Words attributed to Queen Elizabeth I Whom Thou a chief and royal guide And he shall redeem Israel: from all his sins. touch his anointed nor his prophets harm. didst for our guideless troops provide; Amen. Record we this to all posterity, Psalm 130 Now we beseech thee, mighty Lord, that we may praise him to eternity: To us such heavenly grace afford, And join in holy fear with one accord that this united monarchy, to keep this day holy, holy to the Lord.

- 16 - - 17 - this empire of great Brittany, to thy high pleasure consecrate, may so long bless his royal state, that finally it be not done till the great coming of thy son:

And that his health, his joys, his peace, may as his reign and years increase.

To the almighty Trinity, three persons in one deity, most bright and glorious in heaven all praise, all thanks, all laud be given.

With organs, and with flutes, with cornetts, clarons and with , with , with cymbals and with , with sacred anthems and with psalms with notes of angels and of men, sing Allelulia, Amen.

Verse by Sir George Buc, adapted

- 18 - - 19 - Few other ensembles can match the range of Fretwork’s repertory, spanning as it does the fi rst printed music of 1501 in Venice, to music commissioned by the group this year. Their recordings of arrangements of J. S. Bach have won particular praise, but they have recently issued a disc containing music by Grieg, Debussy, Shostakovitch, Warlock & Britten. This extraordinary breadth of music has taken them all over the world in the 25 years since their debut, and their recordings of the classic English viol repertory – Purcell, Gibbons, Lawes & Byrd – have become the benchmark by which others are judged. Their 2009 recording of the Purcell Fantazias won the Gramophone Award for Baroque Chamber Music.

The consistently high standards they have achieved have brought music old and new to audiences hitherto unfamiliar with the inspiring sound-world of the viol.

www.fretwork.co.uk

- 20 - - 21 - in the prestigious Festival of Santiago de MAGDALENA CONSORT Compostela in Spain, it has performed both PETER HARVEY DIRECTOR vocal and instrumental works in major His Majestys Sagbutts & Cornetts is a world recording Monteverdi Vespers with John Butt’s international festivals across Europe and renowned, pioneering historic brass ensemble award-winning and performing The Magdalena Consort was founded in 2008 England, bringing a virtuosic flair and colour and the UK’s pre-eminent and at the famous Durham Brass Festival. The by Peter Harvey as an instrumental and vocal to music from Monteverdi to Bach. In 2013 the virtuosi. Celebrating its 35th birthday in 2017, group is often invited to give masterclasses ensemble and is dedicated to performing group released a first recording on Channel HMSC continues to delight audiences worldwide and workshops internationally and individual baroque works with the small vocal forces Classics, Recreation for the Soul – an by disseminating the sound of its noble members of HMSC also teach at conservatoires typical of the time. In this new departure into exploration of number symbolism in three instruments via recordings, radio and television and universities across Europe. early English baroque music, the group brings Bach cantatas – which received a warm broadcasts and live performances. together international soloists and consort reception from the press, being hailed as ‘this HMSC enjoys frequent collaborations with other singers with both a wide experience of baroque brilliant disc’ by the Guardian. The group’s illustrious name is taken from forces, particularly with Magdalena Consort declamation and a background in the English www.magdalenaconsort.com Matthew Locke’s “five-part tthings for His and Fretwork in the concerts and recordings of choral tradition. Since its inaugural concert Majestys Sagbutts & Cornetts”, which were The Orlando Gibbons Project. The group has played during the coronation celebrations for numerous recordings to its credit, and its own King Charles II in 1661. Essentially a recital record label, SFZ Music, was launched a decade group comprising cornetts, sackbuts and ago, boasting HMSC’s critically acclaimed historical keyboards, HMSC pursues activities recordings of the complete instrumental works that are constantly diverse, ranging in 2017 of Giovanni Battista Grillo, Buccaneer, The alone from opening the prestigious Pórtico do Twelve Days of Christmas and many more. Paraíso international festival in Ourense to www.hmsc.co.uk

- 22 - - 23 - Peter Harvey symphonic, with the Monteverdi Choir, Concerto collections of this repertoire. He is now engaged Court. They are very narrow-scaled and Copenhagen, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, in doctoral research at Royal Birmingham without nicking, so the speech is sibilant and Peter Harvey has been performing internationally the Netherlands Bach Society and the Purcell Conservatoire into performance of the consort the tone rich. The nominal pitch is 5ft, i.e. at the highest level for many years, and has made Quartet, among many others. Performing verse anthem from Byrd to Gibbons, with a special a fourth above singing pitch, the basis for countless recordings. His repertoire extends from anthem repertoire represents a return to one of focus on those of Edmund Hooper, and has all the Tudor organs we know about. The actual the early Baroque to contemporary music by way his earliest musical loves, first experienced while presented papers at a number of international pitch is a semitone above A440 (A466). of art song, and he has come to be particularly he was a choral scholar at Magdalen College, conferences. associated with the works of J. S. Bach. He . Whether in performances of baroque has scores of acclaimed recordings of both the music or German Lieder, Harvey is regularly www.orlandogibbonsproject.com cantatas and the major works to his name, in praised for his vivid response to language, and www.fretworkpublishing.co.uk versions ranging from the minimalist to the his aim here has been to guide the singers in an immediacy and intensity of expression. ‘St Teilo’ organ by Goetze and Gwynn www.peterharvey.com This is based on the Wetheringsett organ made William Hunt for the Early English Organ Project in 2001, Artistic Director which was itself based on the soundboard found in 1977 at Wetheringsett in Suffolk. Its William Hunt was a founder member of Fretwork characteristics suggest that it was made by and soon after its formation launched Fretwork an English builder, probably local. They include Editions, a specialist publisher of viol consort- a long, fully chromatic key compass, choruses of related music, of which he is director and general wooden or metal pipes of the same scale editor. He now combines this with a freelance and style, each with its own slider, and a voicing career as both viol and violone player with several style familiar from 17th century English leading period instrument ensembles, notably the organs, but also Italian and Spanish organs. Dunedin Consort and Taverner Consort. In recent The organ for St Teilo is physically smaller. Its years he has developed a particular interest in the pipes are based on the only pipes surviving English consort anthem, publishing for Fretwork from the mediaeval West Country tradition, from complete performing editions of some major John Loosemore’s 1665 organ for Nettlecombe © Kim Hardy

- 24 - - 25 - SPONSORS PAGE Major Donors: Professor Stephen Bann CBE We are especially grateful to the following for Christopher and Sue Benson making this recording possible Jane Furth Ellen O’Gorman Principal Donors: William H. G. Hunt Robin Adams His Hon Michael Oppenheimer Richard Bridges and Elena Vorotko Liz Seely Patricia Brown Roger Sym Caroline Dodd Kenneth Thomson & Ursula Schlapp Editions used: Stainer & Bell: (Musica Britannica) tracks 4, 10, (EECM) 13; Novello: 12, 14; © Andrew Johnstone: 1–3, 5–8, 11; Alan Sainer © David Pinto: 16; © William Hunt: 15, 17. Recorded in St Jude-on-the-Hill, Hampstead Garden Suburb, London, UK on January 25-27 2019 Michael Rigsby and to many other individual donors, too Producer & Recording Engineer – Philip Hobbs Hugh Rosenbaum numerous to mention, as well as others who Editor – Julia Thomas

Dennis Schwartz wish to remain anonymous. Design and Artwork – Woven Design www.wovendesign.co.uk Anthony Schoults Sara Spencer Sponsors of individual tracks P 2020 The copyright in this sound recording is owned by Signum Records Ltd Mark and Rosamund Williams © 2020 The copyright in this CD booklet, notes and design is owned by Signum Records Ltd The Barrington Foundation Richard Turbet (track 1) Any unauthorised broadcasting, public performance, copying or re-recording of Signum Compact Discs constitutes an infringement of copyright and will render the infringer liable to an action by law. Licences for public performances or broadcasting may be obtained from Phonographic Performance Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this booklet may be reproduced, stored Binks Trust Big Apple Baroque (track 8) in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission from Signum Records Ltd. Angel Early Music The Golsoncott Foundation We are also most grateful to Huw Lloyd, Andrew SignumClassics, Signum Records Ltd., Suite 14, 21 Wadsworth Road, Perivale, Middlesex, UB6 7LQ, UK. +44 (0) 20 8997 4000 E-mail: [email protected] The Viola da Gamba Society of America Jolliffe and Xiaoting Chang for their expertise in www.signumrecords.com the specialised art of working the organ bellows during our concert and recording sessions.

- 26 - - 27 - ALSO AVAILABLE on signumclassics

In Chains of Gold: The English Pre-Restoration Verse Anthem Vol. 1 Orlando Gibbons – Complete Consort Anthems Fretwork Magdalena Consort His Majestys Sagbutts & Cornetts SIGCD511

“The synergy of the Magdalena Consort, Fretwork and His Majesty’s Sagbutts and Cornetts, unveils Orlando Gibbons’s Consort Anthems and In Nomines in all their pious glory and passionate devotion…Fretwork shine in the In Nomines, relishing exchanges steeped with the references to Taverner, Ferrabosco and Bull.” BBC Music Magazine

“Subtle, seductively supple and sinuous singing and playing breathe vivid life into works we have grown used to hearing in more massive interpretations.” Choir & Organ

Available through most record stores and at www.signumrecords.com For more information call +44 (0) 20 8997 4000

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