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Byrd - The Honour of William Byrd

£12.69

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Label: BIS

Cat No: BIS2663

Barcode: 7318599926636

Format: Hybrid SACD

Number of Discs: 1

Release Date: 4th August 2023

About

This disc provides an opportunity to explore the music of the proud Englishman, the devoted friend, the loyal subject, and the faithful servant that was William Byrd, on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of his death. Through a collection of songs and instrumental works performed by the Chelys Consort of Viols joined by tenor violist Harry Buckoke and mezzo-soprano Helen Charlston, this recording introduces this key figure of the English Renaissance music: both devoutly Catholic and a favourite of the Protestant Queen, a serious character capable of weighty contemplation but also sharp wit and humour, and the loyal friend who wrote so personally and touchingly.

Beginning with Thou poet’s friend, a celebration of the union of poetry and music, the ensemble’s carefully chosen works are in turn gay, sad, religious and secular, culminating in one of the best and most moving consort songs ever composed, Ye sacred Muses, a tribute to Thomas Tallis, Byrd’s teacher, colleague and friend. The seven instrumental pieces showcase Byrd’s inventiveness with their unexpected runs, cross-rhythms, daring harmonies, lively dances and the joy of sheer virtuosity.

Sound/Video

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1

Thou poet’s friend
2

In nomine a 4 no.1, T393
3

Wretched Albinus
4

Fantasia a 6 in G minor, T389
5

With lilies white
6

Fantasia a 5: Browning, T387 ‘The Leaves be Greene’
7

This sweet and merry month of May, T317
8

O Lord, make thy servant, Elizabeth, T204
9

All as a sea, the world no other is, T243
10

Fantasia a 5 in C major: Two Parts in One in the Fourth Above
11

Come to me, grief, for ever, T244
12

Sellinger’s Round, FVB64 (arr. FH Mountney & W Bergmann)
13

Blessed Is he that fears the Lord
14

Why do I use my paper, ink and pen
15

Fantasia a 6 no.1 in G minor, T390
16

Ah silly soul, T312
17

Rejoice unto the Lord
18

Fantasia a 4 no.1 in D minor, T380
19

Ye sacred Muses

Europadisc Review

No single disc can do justice to an output as richly varied as that of William Byrd (c. 1540–1623), one of England’s greatest ever composers, the 400th anniversary of whose death fell exactly a month ago. Yet of all the recordings and concerts this year marking the occasion, this new release from the Chelys Consort of Viols and mezzo-soprano Helen Charlston delves far deeper than most, interweaving viol fantasias with consort songs to give a glimpse of Byrd the man and musician. It is entitled ‘The Honour of William Byrd’, with an explanatory subtitle at the head of consort member Alison Kinder’s booklet essay: ‘honouring his faith, his Queen, his country and his friends’.

Three things drew us immediately to this disc even before we’d heard a note of it: firstly, the presence of Charlston, whose award-winning 2022 release ‘Battle Cry: She Speaks’ was one of our top ten Discs of the Year. Secondly, the Chelys Consort themselves, relatively recent arrivals on the consort scene whose previous releases of Christopher Simpson and Purcell have greatly impressed us; and thirdly, the cover: a reproduction of Albrecht Dürer’s astonishingly vivid Wing of a European Roller, a masterpiece by another towering figure of the Renaissance, albeit of several generations earlier.

As it turns out, there’s a similar vivid brightness to the music-making on this disc. The viols are exquisitely tuned, with light, transparent textures, alertly sprung rhythms, sensitive phrasing (without the ‘bulges’ that mar some ensembles), and great depth of sonority in the more serious items. They yield nothing in terms of technique or musicality to such long-established groups as Fretwork and Phantasm, and bring an engaging freshness to all the items on the disc.

And then there’s Charlston herself, her tone as focused as a clarion but with a unique richness and strength in the lower range. Every word emerges with brilliant clarity (all the vocal items are English-texted), deeply felt and meticulously shaped, even in the more idiosyncratic vocal rhythms of All as a sea, the world no other is from Byrd’s 1588 Psalms, Sonnets and Songs of Sadness and Piety. She works hand-in-glove with the consort members to forge an ideal musical partnership, her voice couched on sumptuous layers of instrumental sound.

The disc opens with Byrd’s celebration of the art of music and its union with poetry in Thou poet’s friend, addressed to the Muse Clio, goddess of the lyre, at her abode on Mount Helicon. The musicians immediately draw the listener into Byrd’s uniquely rewarding soundworld, its melancholy undertow giving it a strikingly modern effect on the listener’s emotion. Another tribute to music itself is the lightly-worn erudition of the canonic writing in the five-part Fantasia in C major, ‘Two Parts in One in the Fourth Above’, as well as the In nomine a 4 no.1, just one of the many instrumental pieces from the Renaissance based on a snippet from a mass by John Taverner.

Other instrumental items range from the more popular song and dance flavours of such works as The Leaves be Greene, Sellenger’s Round (in an arrangement for viol consort), and the snappy rhythms (still deliciously plush) of the second Fantasia a 6 (track 4), to the more sober (yet wonderfully sprung) counterpoint of the first Fantasia a 6 (track 15). In all of these, as well as in many other items on the disc, an almost Mahlerian sardonic fatalism lies beneath the surface, however cheerful it may seem.

The vocal pieces include items associated with the Elizabethan court: the ironically mournful Wretched Albinus on the demise of the favourite-turned-traitor the Earl of Essex, the ringing tones of O Lord, make thy servant, Elizabeth (based on Psalm 21, with some pungent false relations), and the touching With lilies white, a tribute to fellow Catholic Lady Magdalen Browne. Another elegiac work is Come to me, grief, for ever, in memory of Sir Philip Sidney (1544–1586), where the final stanza is subtly shaded down to pianissimo: one of many memorable moments on the disc as a whole, natural and unforced yet immensely affecting.

Unlike Byrd’s ‘official’ works for the Protestant liturgy, and his Latin-texted pieces for fellow recusant Catholics, his settings of Blessed is he (Psalm 112) and Ah silly soul are, in Kinder’s words, ‘expression[s] of faith, not denomination, beautifully and simply set.’ They form an important part in this unusually rounded portrayal of Byrd the man and composer. Most touching of all, however, is the final item: Ye sacred Muses, a very personal tribute to his older colleague and close friend Thomas Tallis. Here Charlston is wonderfully poised and radiant, the tone expressively piercing but cushioned by the viols, every note and phrase cherished. It sets the seal on a remarkable disc in celebration of Byrd, glowingly recorded by BIS in St Martin’s Church, East Woodley. For all lovers of English music, this disc is a must; as a quartercentenary tribute it is simply outstanding.

Reviews

Songs lamenting the deaths of the courtier Philip Sidney and Byrd’s mentor Thomas Tallis stand out amid a consistently intriguing programme. Played by the Chelys Consort and flawlessly sung by the mezzo-soprano Helen Charlston, the whole thing is beautifully done. Erica Jeal

The Guardian 23 June 2023