Leading performers of 17th-century music the Magdalena Consort, Fretwork and His Majestys Sagbutts and Cornetts combine forces under the artistic direction of William Hunt for their second release exploring the English Pre-Restoration Verse Anthem – Psalms and Royal Anthems, particularly those of William Byrd.
More than any composer before him, William Byrd catered prolifically to a wide variety of musicians. Connoisseurs of Latin motets at home and abroad, troupes of boy actors with their viols and their unbroken voices, solo keyboard players, the choirs of the established English church, and the underground ensembles of Catholic households where mass was celebrated in secret— performers of all these kinds could look to Byrd for quantities, in some cases vast, of music of the highest excellence.
Learn more about the Orlando Gibbons project here: https://www.orlandogibbonsproject.com/
★★★★ “William Hunt’s troops, led by the characterful Magdalena Consort, backed up with viols, sackbuts, cornets and perky reconstructed Tudor organ, service their wonderful music with a dazzling kaleidoscope of colours” – The Times
“The vowel sounds… are thrilling. The diphthonged synchronicity of ‘power’ and ‘ire’ are a thing of beauty…The intonation and blend against the glistening strings of Fretwork are second to none…This is music making of the highest calibre, steeped in emotional intelligence and affective balance. Booklet notes…crown the disc with excellent musicological detail” – Gramophone
★★★★ Performance ★★★★★ Recording “An ear-tingling fulsomeness that guarantees the disc a splendiferous climax…It sets a marker for all that follows as ‘chains of gold’ are spun with disarming felicity” – BBC Music Magazine
“The music itself is varied and of the highest quality, the performers are among the finest in this repertory…a most attractive and enthralling programme, supported by a booklet that is both scholarly and readable…The performances leave nothing to be desired. The viols and wind…are at the top of their profession. All the singers are excellent…but every individual performer, alongside their technical and musicological colleagues, has been crucial in making this an outstanding disc” – Early Music Review
“I think this is a very very special recording. It’s the second volume as it were of this series and it’s
very much worth procuring” – BBC Radio 3 Record Review
