The Word Unspoken by Gallicantus Consort

William Byrd, Philippe de Monte

Gallicantus Consort

The Word Unspoken

Format: CD
Label: Signum Classics
UPC: 0635212029527
Catnr: SIGCD 295
Release date: 01 June 2012
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Label
Signum Classics

UPC
0635212029527

Catalogue number
SIGCD 295

Release date
01 June 2012

"It is beautifull worked up with sound and mood that you really have to take the time to listen to this "

TOM, 04-4-2012

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About the album

William Byrd, favourite of Queen Elizabeth I, was a confirmed and practising catholic who worshipped in defiance of the Queen. His status and perhaps even his life was preserved thanks partly to the undeniable mastery of his music, and to the fact that he was careful to maintain an output of music appropriate for a Protestant Rite (simple and English) as well as a Catholic one (florid and Latin). Byrd was by no means the only major Catholic composer working in England during these years. Furthermore, there were English composers whose faith drove them to work abroad, as well as foreign composers who offered sympathy and encouragement to English catholics. Included in this latter category was the Flemish composer Phillipe De Monte who entered into a fascinating compositional correspondence with Byrd. Verses of Psalm 136 ‘Super Flumina Babylonis’ (containing many allegorical references to the plight of catholics unable to practice their faith openly) were set to music and exchanged, in what is now seen as an encoded message of mutual support and friendship between brothers in faith. The texts reveal the Catholic community’s sense of isolation (“How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?” – Quomodo Cantabimus) and bereavement (“Jerusalem is wasted” – Ne Irascaris), and the elaborate, poetic nature of the encoded messages distributed within it through music. The early-music consort Gallicantus (led by former King's Singer Gabriel Crouch) is drawn from the ranks of recent BBC Music Magazine award-winning choir Tenebrae.

Een boeiende muzikale verbintenis tussen Byrd en De Monte
William Byrd, de favoriete componist van Koningin Elizabeth I, was in weerwil van de Koningin een overtuigd en geoefend katholiek. Zijn status, en misschien zelfs zijn leven, werd behouden, deels dankzij het onbetwistbare meesterschap van zijn muziek, en deels door het feit dat hij op voorzichtige wijze een repertoire onderhield dat zowel voor Katholieke als Anglicistische plechtigheden geschikt was.

Byrd was lang niet de enige belangrijke Katholieke componist die tijdens deze periode in Engelamd werkte. Bovendien waren er Engelse componisten wiens geloofsovertuiging hen ertoe bewoog om in het buitenland te werken, naast buitenlandse componisten die sympathie hadden voor de Engelse katholieken en hen aanmoedigden. De Vlaamse componist Phillipe De Monte behoorde tot deze laatste categorie.

De Monte begon een fascinerende muzikale correspondentie met Byrd. Verzen van Psalm 136, dat veel allegorische verwijzingen bevat naar de benarde toestand van katholieken die niet in staat zijn om hun geloof openlijk te uiten, werden van muziek voorzien en uitgewisseld, in wat nu gezien wordt als een gecodeerde boodschap van onderlinge steun en vriendschap tussen broeders in het geloof. De teksten onthullen het gevoel van isolatie en verlies onder de Katholieke gemeenschap, en de gedetailleerde, poëtische aard van de gecodeerde boodschappen die er door middel van de muziek in worden verspreid.

Artist(s)

Gallicantus Consort

Literally meaning ‘rooster song’ or ‘cock crow’, Gallicantus takes its name from monastic antiquity for the office held just before dawn: a ceremony which evokes the renewal of life offered by the coming day. Dedicated to renaissance music and directed by Gabriel Crouch, the membership of this early music group boasts a wealth of experience in consort singing, drawn from groups such as The Tallis Scholars, Tenebrae, and The King’s Singers. The group is bound by a shared love of communicating text, and creates performances which draw out unifying themes within apparently diverse repertoire. To this end they are as meticulous about providing context and insight for audiences as they are about crafting interpretations of the music they love. Gallicantus released their first CD with Signum Classics in 2009, dedicated to the music of Robert White. Critics acclaimed an “impressive debut” (Observer) of “impassioned, exciting music” (The Times), whilst Gramophone Magazine declared: “What an outstanding disc... The opening of the Lamentations could stand as a kind of illuminated initial at the beginning of a gorgeous manuscript, so transparent and luminous is it.” Their second recording “Dialogues of Sorrow – Passions on the Death of Prince Henry (1612)” was described as possessing “singing of clarity, suppleness and poignancy” (Daily Telegraph), “milking every plangent suspension” (Independent on Sunday), and as “one of the year’s best choral releases.” (TheArtsDesk.com). Gallicantus will be recording its fourth CD with Signum Classics for release in 2013, featuring the music of Orlandus Lassus. Recent concerts have seen the group perform in the UK (Spitalfields Festival), Germany and Italy. Future performances include singing in Poland, Germany, the USA and the UK (York Early Music Festival, Wigmore Hall)

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Gabriel Crouch (conductor)

Composer(s)

William Byrd

William Byrd was an English composer. He was one of the greatest composers of his generation. Hiis name is sometimes spelled as Bird, Byrde, or Byred. The exact dates of his birth and death are not known, and even his place of birth (Lincoln) is merely guesswork, based on the fact that several families named Byrd lived in Lincolnshire during the 17th century. As a child, Byrd received music lessons from the renowned Thomas Tallis in the Chapel Royal in London. Byrd is part of the so-called virginalists. In 1563, he was appointed as organist of the cathedral in Lincoln, even though he must have only been around 20 years old and in 1572 he was appointed as organist of Chapel Royal together with Tallis. In 1575, again with Tallis, he received the rights to publish and sell his music by Queen Elizabeth I. In honour of the Queen, the two composers dedicated their Cantiones Sacrae in the same year.
On multiple occasions, Byrd was prosecuted in court. As a catholic, he was repeatedly prosecuted for the rejection of Anglicanism. Nonetheless, he remained in favour of the Queen, probably because he composed music for both religious branches. Moreover, he wrote both secular and sacred music, and both vocal and instrumental pieces.

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