The King’s Singers & Fretwork
Release date: 13/01/23
Catalogue number: SIGCD731
Barcode: 635212073124
“The King’s Singers are just wonderful, and they, their natural blend, they’re so good at doing this…the way in which they can use their voices instrumentally, I think, works…when you put them with an ensemble like Fretwork, it’s a beautiful pairing because they’re so dextrous…and you really get that sense that there’s almost nothing to choose between viol and voice…they’re so fluid it’s beautiful….A lovely way to explore these two composers on their anniversary” – BBC Radio 3 Record Review
DISC OF THE WEEK “A thoroughly engaging performance…This sweet and merry month of May is one of Byrd’s few contributions to the madrigal genre, delivered here in appropriately dulcet tones, the cross-rhythms vividly projected. The consort song Alack, when I look back is distinguished by tenor Julian Gregory’s sensitive solo singing…[a] magnificent disc…Everything about this album suggests the care and thought with which it has been put together, from the choice of individual works and the overall structure to the way in which one piece leads seamlessly to the next…An enthralling disc in every way” – Europadisc
“It’s a lovely pairing: Fretwork all rasp and twist and tremor, a consort tone of plunging, vertical depth, against the smooth blend and polished horizontal lines of The King’s Singers” – Gramophone
“[Byrd and Weelkes] It’s a lovely pairing: Fretwork all rasp and twist and tremor, a consort tone of plunging, vertical depth, against the smooth blend and polished horizontal lines of The King’s Singers. We get both grit and gloss in the shared pieces – friction that brings a frisson to the gloom of Weelkes’ Say dear and a delicious rustic earthiness to Byrd’s Who made thee Hobb.” – Gramophone
“Arguably the most organic pairing of voices and viols, airily blended and balanced in light and luminous partnership…[Death be not proud] Full of shifting emotions in kaleidoscopic patterns, there’s gorgeous clarity and immediacy to the recorded sound and the MacMillan., with its brooding viols and mourning voices, is worth the price alone” – Choir and Organ
“The quality and the unmistakable sound have always remained the same. In the English gamba ensemble Fretwork, too, new members have replaced the old in the last almost four decades, but here too it is the case that Fretwork are still among the best that can be found in their field of historical performance practice. What else can you expect from a collaboration than musical excellence!…This is really high vocal art” – Radio Klassik
“To perform this kind of music as well as the King’s Singers do is no easy task, but throughout this glorious disc they hide their virtuosity behind what sounds like the most relaxed singing in the world. This is a disc I will return to often, for it reveals its many layers only with repeated listening. The sound, courtesy of the ever reliable Mike Hatch, is – like the performances – intimate and unassuming. It takes you right into the heart of the music, hiding its sophistication behind a veil of apparent simplicity. Just like the music does.” – Tracking Angle
“I suppose it was inevitable for Fretwork and The King’s Singers eventually to team up. It is about time, too. And it is an excellent plan to put together two great composers who left this world within a few months of each other…This disc is a one-off, intelligently planned. It is also superbly performed. The King’s Singers are on the best form I have heard them for sometime. Fretwork, naturally, may be the finest viol consort around.” – Musicweb International
[01] Praise our Lord all ye Gentiles – William Byrd
[02] If Women Could be Fair – William Byrd
[03] Say Dear, When Will Your Frowning Leave – Thomas Weelkes
[04] Like Two Proud Armies – Thomas Weelkes
[05] Pavan No. 3 – Thomas Weelkes
[06] Thule, the Period of Cosmography – Thomas Weelkes
[07] What Joy so True – Thomas Weelkes
[08] In Nomine a4 – Thomas Weelkes
[09] Ye Sacred Muses (1) – William Byrd
[10] Ye Sacred Muses (2) – James MacMillan
[11] In Nomine a5 (1) – Thomas Weelkes
[12] Hark all ye Lovely Saints Above – Thomas Weelkes
[13] Death Hath Deprived Me – Thomas Weelkes
[14] Death, be not Proud – Roderick Williams
[15] In Nomine a5 (2) – Thomas Weelkes
[16] Who Made Thee Hob – William Byrd
[17] This Sweet and Merry Month of May – William Byrd
[18] Browning (The Leaves Be Green) – William Byrd
[19] Alack, When I Look Back – William Byrd
[20] O Lord Make thy Servant Elizabeth – William Byrd
