ANNIVERSARY: William Byrd c. 1540-1623

Edited: July 5, 2023, 4:46 PM · It is definitely nicer to commemorate the births of great composers and musicians, but William Byrd did well to navigate the health hazards of the 16th and 17th centuries, to say nothing of the stormy theological waters of Tudor and Stuart England, to reach the splendid age of at least 80, dying on 4th July 1623. He wrote music in many genres, including services for both the Anglican and Catholic liturgies. Some of his music for viols works well on modern instruments, as does this version for string quartet of the Kyrie Eleison from the Mass for Four Voices. Perhaps some readers of V.com would like to explore Byrd's music further.

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Parker Duchemin

Edited: July 8, 2023, 6:44 AM · Wonderful to hear this solemn and meditative music of William Byrd again. One of Shakespeare's great contemporaries! And a perfect antidote to the noise around us in these troubled times. Thanks for posting.

Adrian Heath

Edited: July 8, 2023, 7:47 AM · I sang in this as a treble in a BBC World Service broadcast.
Later, in Paris, in the five-part mass in a high-anglican mass as second tenor; the Reformation affected composers' lives and music profoundly.

I love playing consort music, even on modern instruments.

Richard Pairaudeau

July 11, 2023, 8:11 AM · For those few but passionately interested, the link will take you to an excellent source of names and biographies of English consort composers, whom you can then follow up, on ISLMP, for example.

http://www.hoasm.org/IVM/EnglConsortGuide.html

Stephen Symchych

July 11, 2023, 12:01 PM · The mass for 5 voices was probably aimed for a private RC service, yes? Of course, there are bits of the Anglican Church that have slid pretty far that direction.

Richard Pairaudeau

July 11, 2023, 1:32 PM · @Stephen, yes. It seems that Byrd was at this time working for a private patron. The interesting fact is that the masses were printed, despite the threats posed to a public Catholic by the Anglican establishment. These were rough times, but apparently Elizabeth l’s high opinion of Byrd protected him.

http://rs.unitbv.ro/Bulletin/Series%20VIII/Special%20Issue/01_Bahnean%20Marius.pdf

Paul Deck

July 11, 2023, 5:50 PM · My dad owned a harpsichord and I know he enjoyed many of the keyboard works of William Byrd, John Bull, Samuel Scheidt, and others of that era. He was particularly fond of a collection called "The Fitzwilliam Virginals Book." A virginal is similar in many ways to a harpsichord.

Stephen Symchych

July 11, 2023, 7:04 PM · Sort of a large, rectangular spinet-- also plucked, but with different scale design so it will necessarily have a different timbre.

Geoff Caplan

July 12, 2023, 2:42 PM · I sang a good deal of Byrd during my time as a chorister at Trinity, Cambridge. An undervalued composer, in my opinion. His choral work can be sublime and deserves to be better known outside of England. His consort pieces for strings can also work well for modern chamber groups. If you're not familiar with his legacy, I do encourage you to explore it.

Adrian Heath

July 13, 2023, 2:59 AM · I too, but "only" at Hampstead Parish Church in the 60's with Martindale Sidwell.
I had no notion of musical history, and I preferred Byrd's Ave Verum to Mozart's..

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ANNIVERSARY: William Byrd c. 1540-1623

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