Search - David Skinner, Andrew Carwood :: Robert Fayrfax: Missa Tecum principum; Maria plena virtute

Fayrfax Triumphant

John Bradley | NY, NY United States | 08/20/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Fayrfax, a largly neglected proponant of the Tudor pre-reformation style is magnificently rendered on this recording. As the director of the ensemble POLYHYMNIA in New York, I used this piece as part of an extensive Liturgical reconstruction for our Dec 1999 Concert. Fayrfax composes music which bridges the middle ages and( for the Birtish isles ) the new style of continental Renaissance composition.This performance beautifully masters this difficult and to many, inaccessable reperatoire. The very sound of Fayrfax represents the full flowering of the Tudor catholic style,musically alligning itself with the church architecture for which it was composed.The complexity of the polyphony expresses in music the fan vaulting of the contemporary church architecture of England at the twilight of the Sarum rite and the dawn of the Anglican Reformation.The use of "jubilating" , the singing of a single vowel sound for long periods of time, creates a celestial atmosphere that, as performed by the Cardinall's Musick certianly transports the listener to the 1520's. I sincerely recommend this recording, not just for the expert but for any one who appreciates sublime beauty."