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1 CD -
437 077-2 - (c) 1986
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1 LP -
2533 113 - (p) 1972 |
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THOMAS
TALLIS & WILLIAM BYRD |
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Thomas Tallis
(ca.1505-1585) |
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The Lamentations
of Jeremiah for five voices |
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Pars I |
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- Incipit lamentatio
Jeremiae prophetae |
1' 19" |
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Aleph. Quomodo sedet sola civitas
plena populo |
2' 44" |
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- Beth. Plorans
ploravit in nocte |
4' 56" |
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Pars II |
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- De lamentatione
Jeremiae prophetae |
1' 33" |
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- Ghimel. Migravit
Juda propter afflictionem |
2' 48" |
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- Daleth. Omnes
persecutores |
3' 48" |
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- Heth. Facti sunt
hostes eius in capite |
5' 40" |
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William Byrd
(ca.1543-1623) |
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Mass for Three
Voices |
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- Kyrie |
0' 45" |
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- Gloria |
5' 05" |
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- Credo |
8' 41" |
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- Sanctus ·
Benedictus |
3' 10" |
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- Agnus Dei |
3' 23" |
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PRO CANTIONE ANTIQUA /
Bruno Turner, Direction |
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Paul
Esswood, Keith Davis, Geoffrey
Mitchell, John Elwes,
James Griffett,
James Lewington, Mark Brown, Brian
Etheridge, David Thomas |
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Luogo
e data di registrazione |
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Schloßkirche
Schleiden (Eifel), (Germania) -
aprile 1972 |
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Registrazione:
live / studio |
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studio |
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Producer /
Engineer |
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Andreas
Holschneider / Günther Breest /
Klaus Hiemann |
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Prima Edizione
LP |
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Archiv
- 2533 113 - (1 lp) - durata 43'
54" - (p) 1972 - Analogico |
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Edizione
"Collectio" CD |
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Archiv
- 437 077-2 - (1 cd) - durata 43'
54" - (c) 1986 - ADD |
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Note |
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TALLIS
· BYRD: SACRED
COMPOSITIONS
Thomas
Tallis was born about 1505,
probably in Kent, and died
at Greenwich, in the same
county, in 1585. His long
life thus spans the reigns
of five monarchs - from
Henry VII to Elizabeth I - and
the troubled course of the
English Reformation.
Tallis’s earliest employment
was at various monastic
establishments: he was
organist at the royal abbey
of Waltham, just north of
London, when it was
dissolved in 1540, but after
a brief interlude at
Canterbury Cathedral he was
appointed a Gentleman of the
Chapel Royal, a post which
he held until his death more
than 40 years later.
Already under Henry VIII
steps had been taken to
replace the Latin liturgy
with a vernacular one, and
in keeping with the demand
for greater intelligibility
of the words, a drastic
simplification
in musical style was called
for. In place of the
whirling counterpoint of
Fayrfax and Taverner, a
simple note-against-note
homophony was required. The
following reign of Edward VI
(1547-53) saw the
introduction of a uniform
English rite, but under Mary
(1553-58), the daughter of
Catherine of Aragon and
cousin of the Emperor
Charles V an immediate
return to the Roman
communion and the Latin rite
was made. As a member of the
Chapel, Tallis contributed
to this development by
composing, with John
Shepherd, a series of hymns
and responsories, as well as
a Mass (the seven-part Puer
natus est nobis)
possibly intended for the
ceremonies celebrating
England’s formal absolution
from heresy.
When Elizabeth, Mary’s
half-sister, came to the
throne in 1558 the country
was once more steered in the
direction of Reformation,
but although the vernacular
liturgy and its simplified
music were now enforced
throughout England, the
queen characteristically
reserved the right to adorn
the services of her own
Chapel with such
magnificence as she saw fit.
She also protected, by her
favour, such gifted
musicians as Tallis and his
pupil Byrd, even though the
latter, in particular, made
no secret of his allegiance
to the old faith and rite.
In 1575 she granted them a
monopoly of the right to
print music, which they used
to bring out, in the same
year, a collection of their
own Latin motets, dedicated
to her.
It is against this troubled
background that one must
listen to Tallis’s Lamentations,
recognizing that they were
probably designed, not for
the liturgical celebration
of Tenebrae, but for private
edification.
(Slight variants from the
standard text bear this
out.) That the words would
have had a special
appositeness for Catholics,
with great monastic
buildings standing despoiled
and desolate throughout the
country, can hardly be
denied.
Traces of the old melismatic
style can be heard in
Tallis’s treatment of the
Hebrew letters that preface
each verse, but the text
itself is set with the
attention to clear
declamation that
distinguishes his late work.
More remarkable is the
far-reaching harmonic scheme
of the first section. This
proceeds from a Phrygian E
minor by way of a cunningly
controlled series of
“modulations” to the remote
key of B flat at “Plorans
ploravit in nocte”, and then
back again to E.
The second section,
beginning “De lamentatione Jeremiae
prophetae”, remains closely
anchored to G minor
throughout. Here, however,
Tallis uses the
characteristic harmonic
friction of the simultaneous
false relation between flat
and sharpened leading-notes
to underline the anguish of
the verses beginning “Omnes
portae eius destructae”.
Both sections end with the
refrain (differently set
each time): “Jerusalem,
Jerusalem, convertere ad
Dominum Deum tuum” - “Jerusalem,
Jerusalem,
return unto the Lord thy
God”.
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William Byrd
was a full generation
younger than his friend and
colleague Tallis. He was
probably born in 1543, and
at the age of 19 or 20 was
appointed organist and
master of the choristers at
Lincoln Cathedral. In 1572
he moved to London as a
Gentleman of Elizabeth’s
Chapel Royal, but chose to
live outside the city itself
- first at Harlington in
Middlesex, and then, after
about 1592, at Stondon
Massey in Essex. It is
possible that as a devout
and lifelong Catholic he
preferred the greater
privacy of the country, yet
in spite of his close
connection with many other
Catholics, some of whom were
certainly implicated in
treasonable activities, his
own loyalty to the queen and
her government was never
questioned, and he remained
a member of the Chapel Royal
until his death in 1623.
Byrd’s musical stature,
acknowledged by all his
contemporaries, can hardly
be overrated. He Wrote
extensively for every medium
then available except, it
seems, the lute, and in
every genre except the newly
introduced Italianate
madrigal. But it is his
Latin church music that
reveals his genius most
completely. The Cantiones
sacrae, published in
1589 and 1591, have an
intensity unrivalled in
England and a breadth of
scale unknown on the
Continent. The Gradualia
(1605-07), settings of the
Proper designed for
liturgical use throughout
the year, are more concise
but no less masterly.
The three Masses - one for
four, one for three, and one
for five voices - were
published clandestinely,
without title-pages, but
typographical evidence has
revealed that they were first
printed, in that order,
between 1592 and 1595. Since
it was illegal at this time
either to celebrate or to
publish the Latin Mass,
Byrd’s settings must be seen as a
conscious manifesto of his
beliefs, as well as a
practical contribution to
private (indeed, secret)
religious observance. It
may be this that lends
them their quite
exceptional intensity of
expression.
Jeremy
Noble
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