William Byrd Mass For Five Voices

It was only recently established by bibliographical analysis that William Byrd’s three settings of the Ordinary of the Mass—in three, four and five parts—were almost certainly published in the early 1590s, coinciding with Byrd’s move from London to a Catholic enclave in Stondon Massey, Essex. The Mass for five voices, scored for treble (or soprano), alto, two tenors and bass, is thought to have been the last of the three to have been composed, probably in late 1594 or early 1595, and is, by any reckoning, a masterpiece. It is probable that Byrd composed his Latin liturgical music for use in the domestic chapels maintained, often at considerable personal risk, by recusant Catholic families. Here they would probably have been sung by a small group of singers, perhaps one to a part.

In a selection of motets woven affectingly throughout the glorious five-part Mass, The Gesualdo Six perfectly captures all the power and tenderness of Byrd’s compositional voice.

William Byrd, together with Thomas Tallis as the joint holders of the Royal monopoly for printing music, was given free rein to compose sacred music for the Roman liturgy despite Elizabeth I being in principle opposed to such practice. The resulting works are masterpieces of the age, and the Mass for five voices, with its unashamedly Catholic presentation of the words, is the last and most beautiful of the three settings he made of this text.

Stile Antico - The Phoenix Rising (2013) {Harmonia Mundi}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 312 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 178 Mb
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© 2013 Harmonia Mundi | HMU 807572
Classical / Vocal

The rising "phoenix" in the title of this release by the leaderless, 12-voice British choir Stile Antico carries several meanings. The album presents selections from the ten-volume 1920s publication Tudor Church Music, which had a great deal to do with the prevalence of English Renaissance choral music in the general choral scene of today. That book essentially revived the reputation of English music, but it has itself become shrouded in historical mists; the album marks both the original funding of Tudor Church Music by the Carnegie UK Trust and the centenary of that organization in 2013.

The Tallis Scholars - Sing William Byrd
The Tallis Scholars / Peter Phillips
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Label/Cat#: Gimmel Records # CDGIM 208 | Country/Year: UK 2007
Genre: Classical | Style: Vocal, Renaissance, Sacred

"Few things are as satisfying to a choral music fan as spending an hour or two listening to the Tallis Scholars sing the music of William Byrd. A speciality of this ensemble for more than two decades, Byrd's masses, motets, and anthems are among the greatest sacred choral works of Elizabethan England–and thus the late Renaissance–and their beauty and complexity always seem to inspire these singers to a level of expressive effect that most other choirs never achieve…" ~classicstoday

John Taverner (1490-1545) and William Byrd (1540-1623) born a generation apart, both hailed from Lincolnshire, and left a collection of choral works that rank (with that of Thomas Tallis) as some of the finest of its age, or indeed any other.
Both men worked in turbulent times – the older Taverner grew up during the reign of Henry VII, and became Informator Choristarum at Cardinal College, Oxford – Cardinal Wolsey’s new college in the university. Here Taverner recruited 16 boys and 12 men for the choir.

John Taverner (1490-1545) and William Byrd (1540-1623) born a generation apart, both hailed from Lincolnshire, and left a collection of choral works that rank (with that of Thomas Tallis) as some of the finest of its age, or indeed any other. Both men worked in turbulent times, the older Taverner grew up during the reign of Henry VII, and became Informator Choristarum at Cardinal College, Oxford, Cardinal Wolsey's new college in the university. Here Taverner recruited 16 boys and 12 men for the choir.