Byrd - Cantiones Sacrae | Chandos - Chaconne CHAN0733

Byrd - Cantiones Sacrae

Label: Chandos - Chaconne

Cat No: CHAN0733

Format: CD

Number of Discs: 1

Genre: Vocal/Choral

Release Date: 2nd April 2007

Contents

Works

Byrd, William

Cantiones Sacrae I (1589)
» no.9 Vigilate
» no.10 In resurrectione tua
» no.12 Ne irascaris, Domine
» no.13 O quam gloriosum est regnum
» no.15 Dominum, secundum multitudinem dolorum meorum
» no.16 Laetentur coeli
Cantiones Sacrae II (1591)
» no.1 Laudibus in sanctis
» no.2 Quis est homo
» no.4 Salve Regina
» no.13 Miserere mei
» no.15 Domine, non sum dignus
» no.18 Cantate Domino
» no.20 Domine, salva nos
» no.21 Haec Dies

Artists

The Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge

Conductor

Richard Marlow

Works

Byrd, William

Cantiones Sacrae I (1589)
» no.9 Vigilate
» no.10 In resurrectione tua
» no.12 Ne irascaris, Domine
» no.13 O quam gloriosum est regnum
» no.15 Dominum, secundum multitudinem dolorum meorum
» no.16 Laetentur coeli
Cantiones Sacrae II (1591)
» no.1 Laudibus in sanctis
» no.2 Quis est homo
» no.4 Salve Regina
» no.13 Miserere mei
» no.15 Domine, non sum dignus
» no.18 Cantate Domino
» no.20 Domine, salva nos
» no.21 Haec Dies

Artists

The Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge

Conductor

Richard Marlow

About

The Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge continues to discover rare choral works, with a new recording for
Chandos - William Byrd’s Cantiones Sacrae 1589 & 1591.
 
Byrd’s exquisite collections of Cantiones sacrae were like no other books produced in Elizabethan England.
Composers in mainland Europe – Palestrina, for example, wrote a steady stream of Latin motets and had them
published in mass-market editions but Byrd was the first English composer to do the same. After the Latin liturgy
was abolished by mid-sixteenth-century reformers, there was an understandable lack of demand for Latin sacred
music among professional singers in England, when the motet resurfaced there, it did so as high-class chamber
music for discerning performers, not as practical church music: Byrd's motets were therefore serious in mood,
though were intended as vocal chamber music for domestic performance.
 
In his motets, Byrd showed himself the equal of his French and Italian contemporaries as a contrapuntist. He was
an innovator in form and technique in his liturgical work. H.K. Andrews described them as 'musically one of the
great achievements of the century'. Both volumes of Cantiones sacrae, Book I (29 motets) written in 1589, Book II
32 motets) in 1591 are a testament to Byrd’s artistic talent. It would be difficult to find another Renaissance
composer who managed to unite such a high level of technical skill with such deep insight into the varieties of
human emotion, and the pieces on this CD offer a sampling of his art.
 
Haec dies is a joyful Easter text sung just before the gospel of the Resurrection is proclaimed on Easter Sunday morning. Byrd’s use of lively triple rhythms and bright scoring (in six parts, with an extra tenor and soprano) adds to its brilliant effect. In resurrectione tua, another Easter motet, sparkles with a flourish of ornamentation in all voices. The crisp, intertwining melodies are very accessible. Laudibus in sanctis is unique among Byrd’s Latin motets. Its unusual words and its extrovert flair reminiscent of an English madrigal – have combined to make it one of the most admired of his Cantiones. Byrd handles the endless parade of illustrations – trumpets, drums, organ music, dancing – with unfailing wit and technical facility.
 
Both books of Cantiones sacrae 1589 and 1591 are rarely available together, which makes this collection all the
more important. "The performances are robust yet sensitive… and the recorded sound is sumptuous. This is a triumph for Marlow and his Trinity College Choir…" International Record Review on Mendelssohn Sacred Choral Works

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