The Early Byrd
CHANDOS / CHACONNE / 1999
This series began in response to a plea in Early Music by scholar John Milsom for more interestingly programmed recordings of Byrd than the usual ‘Three Masses plus…’ It focuses on his early repertoire for both voices and instruments and places the great six-voice works of the 1575 Cantiones Sacrae with his monumental eight-voice ‘Ad Dominum cum tribularer’. The constantly changing textures of a cappella, voice and viols, and virginals make for very pleasant listening.
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“This disc adopts an imaginative approach to programming Byrd's music by presenting works in different genres grouped together to demonstrate a single stage in his development. There's so much here that wins our admiration...'”
GRAMOPHONE
