Search - Byrd, Tallis Scholars, Phillips :: Great Service

Great in all respects...

FrKurt Messick | Bloomington, IN USA | 06/11/2004

(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.--The Great Service--
'Great' in the sense here meant 'large' rather than 'excellent' or 'wonderful', but it nonetheless deserves the latter descriptions too. There are six movements in the Great Service, parts of the services of Matins, Evensong and Communion in the Anglican tradition. It does not have more common mass parts of Kyrie, Sanctus and Agnus Dei. This is scored for MAATB, but in fact shifted to make use of many voices at different times in the progress. This piece held true to the developing Protestant ideal of clarity in lyrics for meaningful hearing. --Other pieces--
As an added bonus, the Tallis Scholars have provided three English anthems by Byrd, 'O Lord, make thy servant Elizabeth', 'O God, the proud are risen', 'Sing joyfully unto God'. The first is scored MAATB, and the other two MMAATB. 'Sing joyfully' is probably Byrd's best anthem, jubilant and astonishing. Byrd, together with Tallis (from whom this ensemble derives its name), was considered a master of the English anthem.--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 one of the famous portraits from the National Portrait Gallery of Queen Elizabeth, 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. The music on this disc was originally recorded in 1987 at the Church of St. John in Hackney, London."