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The novelty of this take on Byrd's longest and grandest work is that David Skinner and the singers of Alamire are joined by just four players of His Majestys Sagbutts and Cornetts for all the full sections of the service, and by the discreet organ-playing of Stephen Farr for the rest. This has been done before (by Musica Contexta and the English Cornett and Sackbut Ensemble under Simon Ravens - Chandos, 9/12) but here it is both more transparent and more persuasive, with absolutely marvellous singers and beautiful balance. An informative historical note by Helen Roberts, one of the cornett players, puts a thoroughly persuasive case for this being the standard ensemble in the best English cathedrals in Byrd's day. The alternative would be the version by The Tallis Scholars under Peter Phillips (Gimell, 2002), with no instruments at all, much clearer acoustic distinction between decani and cantoris, and rather more light and shade.
For the rest, Stephen Farr plays all three of Byrd's Clarifica me, Pater settings on a delicious-sounding organ by Robin Jennings, and a selection of Byrd's English anthems ends with a version of O Lord make thy servant Elizabeth our queen in a later version aptly changed to O Lord make thy servant Charles our king. There is a very helpful descriptive essay by Richard Turber, and the entire production is aptly dedicated to the memory of one of our greatest Byrd scholars, Alan Brown. |
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