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Site review by Geohominid April 10, 2008
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Performance: Sonics (S/MC): / |
This disc is all about drama: the drama of the music and its performance, and the drama of its historical context. Thomas Tallis and William Byrd lived during the turmoil of the English Reformation in the sixteenth century, brought about by rapid changes of monarchy. Tallis, born in 1505, was a staunch Catholic working in the Royal Establishment towards the end of Henry VIII's reign, and he experienced the effects of the dissolution of the monastic foundations ,which were one of the principal patrons of church music. Byrd, born in 1543, also entered royal service. After the death of Henry both he and Tallis had to endure the stringent prescriptions of Edward VI's Protestantism for six years, then the reinstatement of Catholicism in Mary's reign (1553-1558), followed by the political establishment of the English reformed church during the reign of Elizabeth I (1558-1603). They were expected, like the rest of the population, to switch their beliefs accordingly. Tallis died in 1585 but Byrd continued to work for Elizabeth, refusing to publicly recant his Catholicism. Realising his great value to her as a composer, she turned a blind eye to his secret religious practices. However, Byrd and his family were repeatedly subject to heavy fines as recusants, for failing to attend the prescribed weekly church services in their village.
These were times of great danger; terrible tortures and martyr's deaths followed those who did not adopt the changing religious regimes, and the music of the time has a particular emotional content and drama. Stile Antico are a young English group rapidly gaining plaudits for their performances of Tudor music. They have no conductor, and work collectively as chamber musicians, with around 13 voices. In this second disc they have programmed the interleaving of Tallis' Protestant works (forthright settings of psalm voices, mainly homophonic and syllabic for textural clarity) with Byrd's motets (polyphonic, mainly for private domestic use in secret at the homes of well-connected Catholic families). This works surprisingly well, and for those who would rather have the composers separated, there is always the programming facility of the player.
Stile Antico's performances are simply stunning. Their voices are natural and pure, well in tune and beautifully integrated. They spin the long polyphonic linear melodies effortlessly and sensitively, and vary tempo and dynamics to bring out the word painting which Byrd, in particular, writes into his brilliant and rich settings. Tallis' psalms are staunchly sung and beautifully nuanced, including the famous 'Why fum'th in fight' which Vaughan-Williams used for his glorious Fantasia. The group follow Byrd into the depths of desolate lamentation with 'Infelix ego' and yet sends 'Laetentur coeli' skipping away in a paean of joy and praise. Although of these works have been recorded many times, these are certainly amongst the finest performances.
To complete the desirability of this issue, Harmonia Mundi have given it an outstanding recording; individual voices can be clearly located within the group, and their DSD 5.0 surround sound smoulders and glows in the ample space of Gospel Oak Church, London. The reverberant decay from the rear speakers takes several seconds after the singing stops, and that in itself is frisson-making. If I have a tiny cavil, it would be that the singers could articulate their consonants a little more clearly; despite the microphones being fairly close, it is sometimes a little difficult to follow the text in polyphony, partly due to the reverberance. And in Tudor times, the text was everything!
Drama and beauty in equal measure from a self-recommending programme and recording.
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Copyright © 2008 John Miller and SA-CD.net
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Review by JJ May 20, 2008 (1 of 1 found this review helpful)
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Performance: Sonics (S/MC): / |
However subtle this recording may be, which offers the works of two composers of seemingly dissimilar appearance – William Byrd (c.1540-1623) and Thomas Tallis (c.1505-1585), it in fact turns out to be entirely pertinent. As Matthew O’Donovan states in his introductory text: “Tallis’ psalms, composed for a new metric Psalter drawn up by the Archbishop Mathew Parker in 1567, are the very example of the Protestant musical esthetic: strict homophony in the name of the clearness of the (Biblical) texts. Byrd’s motets, composed for refractory Catholics, often put Latin texts with subversively political sub-texts into music. Far from strict, they exalt by fully using all the expressive capacities of choral polyphony, echoing the emotional qualities of the word. […] All of them were composed to be sung by the faithful in the privacy of their home rather than by professional choruses in chapels or churches.” After a remarkable disc also devoted to Tallis, Byrd and Sheppard (see Opus HD N°22), the Stile Antico ensemble once again offers an exemplary interpretation of these admirable pages. Each breath, each inflection, each word is full of life. Add unique and heart-felt vocal colors, and there is no avoiding the listening pleasure. With these nine psalms by Tallis, these motets and the Pentecost Mass by Byrd, this Super Audio CD recorded in pure DSD is a real must have.
Jean-Jacques Millo
Translation Lawrence Schulman
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