This ongoing project brings together three highly distinguished ensembles: Magdalena Consort, Fretwork and His Majestys Sagbutts and Cornetts. The time that has passed since the release of our second CD has been bleak for all of us, not least for musicians, and has prevented us until now from continuing our work. But, by way of compensation, we now find ourselves in a rich seam of centenaries, celebrating some of the greatest composers who contributed to the wonderful and uniquely English idiom of the verse anthem. William Byrd and the hitherto little known Edmund Hooper, celebrated in our last CD, died in 1623 and 1621 respectively. Orlando Gibbons, to which our first was devoted, died in 1625. Thomas Tomkins, the towering figure from whom we have not yet heard, was born in 1572 (and, in double qualification, published his great collection of madrigals in 1622). This third CD will contain two huge verse anthems by him, both partially incomplete. Know you not, was written for the funeral of Prince Henry in 1612, an event of national catastrophe that inspired countless artistic outpourings of lamentation, of which this is surely the most magnificent. The other work, O God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance, is the longest in the verse idiom so far unearthed, a highly emotional reaction to the horror and disruption of natural order wrought by the Civil War. It survives only in reduced manuscript parts and has been brought to life in a vituosic feat of reconstruction by John Milsom. Both are highly rhetorical and dramatic, revealing the true soul and purpose of the verse anthem form, that places it arguably amongst the finest artistic products of the English Reformation. Alongside these statuesque works, anthems on a more domestic scale such as John Amner’s Consider, all ye passers by and Richard Nicholson’s When Jesus sat at meat bring a flavour of the madrigalian colour and Italianate pathos that distinguish so much of this still too little known repertoire.
The major fund-raising campaign that made our first two recordings possible needs now to be repeated. Projects such as this, of real cultural importance but out of the classical mainstream, can only be made with the help of private donations, if the music is to be performed by the best available singers and players. This third CD is anticipated to cost close to £50,000. If you feel inspired to help us, we would love to hear from you at the address shown below. We shall be posting updates about the progress of our campaign on our project website and in social media. All donations can be made through the registered charity His Majestys Sagbutts and Cornetts and Gift Aid donation forms are available. Thank you very much for your interest!
The major fund-raising campaign that made our first two recordings possible needs now to be repeated. Projects such as this, of real cultural importance but out of the classical mainstream, can only be made with the help of private donations, if the music is to be performed by the best available singers and players. This third CD is anticipated to cost close to £50,000. If you feel inspired to help us, we would love to hear from you at the address shown below. We shall be posting updates about the progress of our campaign on our project website and in social media. All donations can be made through the registered charity His Majestys Sagbutts and Cornetts and Gift Aid donation forms are available. Thank you very much for your interest!