Search - W. Byrd :: Byrd: 3 Masses by The Tallis Scholars

Fabulous!

Matthew Chapman | St. Louis, MO | 04/24/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Well, how can you go wrong with the Tallis Scholars, anyway? I will never tire of listening to this CD. The music is incredible, the interpretation is top-notch, the sound, the blend, the expression, are all wonderful. The music fills me with such awe and comfort; it is my favorite CD for meditation."

Stunning music

FrKurt Messick | Bloomington, IN USA | 01/18/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"--William Byrd--

William Byrd was a composer of grace and power. A staunch Catholic in an increasingly Protestant country, Byrd maintained his church loyalties at high cost. However, as a recognised genius at liturgical music, he had powerful admirers and friends, perhaps including Queen Elizabeth herself. Producing musical settings to Latin texts in a new-regime English-dominated church environment took courage. However, Byrd persevered all his life to produce music that remains timeless while being firmly rooted in its time.



--Mass for Five Voices, Four Voices, Three Voices--

Each mass consists of five primary pieces: the Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus & Benedictus, and the Agnus Dei. The five-voice mass is probably the latest composition of the three masses presented here. It requires two tenor parts, and has an elongated Credo ending vis-à-vis the other masses. Like other Byrd compositions, in Phillips words, 'remains true to the English preference for counterpoint.' Counterpoint is a particular kind of polyphony that has a different emphasis, but a way to think about it is of having a melody against a melody in the same piece. The four-voice mass was likely the first composition, and remains the most popular. The three-voice mass presented some difficulties of composition, according to Phillips, to present counterpoint for so few voices. Nonetheless, it remains an exquisite piece of liturgical music. The Mass for Five Voices, however, is probably one of Byrd's greatest works, and thus has pride of place in this collection.



--Ave Verum Corpus--

As an added bonus, the Tallis Scholars have provided the 4-minute motet Ave Verum Corpus, also by Byrd. A motet is typically a choral composition sung at services other than masses (often at Vespers, although sometimes as anthem music). Byrd, together with Tallis (from whom this ensemble derives its name), was considered a master of the Flemish style of motet.



--Liner Notes-

Being internationally acclaimed, the Tallis Scholars' CDs typically present their commentary and texts in English, French, German and Italian (together with any Latin texts); that is true of this disc. The cover art also typically represents visual arts contemporary with the compositions - here it is a piece by Rubens, who was a contemporary of William Byrd.



--The Tallis Scholars--

The Tallis Scholars, a favourite group of mine since the first time I heard them decades ago, are a group dedicated to the performance and preservation of the best of this type of music. A choral group of exceptional ability, I have been privileged to see them many times in public, and at almost every performance, their singing seems almost like a spiritual epiphany for me, one that defies explanation in words. Directed by Peter Phillips, the group consists of a small number of male and female singers who have trained themselves well to their task.



Their recordings are of a consistent quality that deserve more than five stars; this particular disc of pieces by Byrd deserves a place on the shelf of anyone who loves choral music, liturgical music or Gregorian chant, classical music generally, or religious music. It is astonishing."