Now into it's seventh volume, Pieter-Jan Belder's series continues to uncover more works from the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book. In this volume he turns his attention to the works of father and son Giles and Richard Farnaby, William Byrd, and selected anonymous works. The book and it's manuscripts provide us with an insight into Elizabethan and early Jacobean socio-cultural life. After the dissolution of the monasteries in 1536 by Henry VIII followed by Mary Tudor's blood-soaked crackdown, it was clear that being a Protestant in Tudor England was risky business. Once Queen Elizabeth took the throne in 1558, she established a moderate form of Protestantism and halted the campaign of religious persecution. But the damage was already done, and many composers decided to steer clear of religion altogether and focus their efforts on secular music. The Fitzwilliam Virginal Book is a vital record of such works. Compiled in the late 1700s, the book today resides in a dedicated museum in Cambridge. The first section of this release surveys Giles Farnaby's musical output. Bony Sweet Robin is a setting of a popular Renaissance tune and Sir Walter Raleigh once in a letter to Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester wrote that Dudley was in the Queen's favor, describing him as 'her Sweet Robin'. This graceful arrangement is Continental in it's nature and similar to the Italian madrigal, with a conjunct and cantabile melody line and through-composed structure. As for Richard Farnaby, the four pieces recorded here are all that survives of his output. Nobodyes jig is his best-known work; a playful dance which requires a skilled performer to successfully execute the fast-paced polyphonic music. The final part features works by Byrd as well as anonymous works including almans, pavans, and keyboard arrangements of lute pieces and popular ballads.

Tracklist:

Alman R. Johnson Set By Farnaby Cxlvii
Grounde Ccxl
Bony Sweet Robin Cxxviii
A Gigge Cclxvii
Fantasia Ccxxxiv
Praeludium Ccxlvi
Fantasia Ccviii
The Flatt Pavan Cclxxxiv
Fantasia Ccxcvi
The L. Zouches Maske Ccxxxix
Fantasia Ccxxix
Tower Hill Ccxlv
Fantasia 'ay Me, Poore Heart' Ccxxxiii
Daphne Cxii
Fantasia Ccxxxviii
Rosseters Galliard Cclxxxiii
Walter Erle's Paven Ccxxxv
Spagnioletta Liv
Up Tails All (Giles) Ccxlii
A Duo (Richard) Ccxlviii
Put Up Thy Dagger, Jemy (Giles) Cxxvii
Nobodyes Gigge (Richard) Cxlix
Hanskin (Richard) Ccxcvii
Why Aske You (Giles) Cclxxxvi
Fayne Would I Wedd (Richard) Cxcvii
Pavana 'delight' E. Johnson Set By Byrd Cclxxvii
Galiarda Cclxxviii
Miserere A3 Clxxvi
Miserere A4 Clxxvii
Callino Casturame Clviii
The Earl Of Oxford's Marche Cclix
Pavana 'bray' Xci
Galliard Xcii
Fortune Lxv
Alman Clxiii
Galliard Clxiv
Monsieur's Alman Lxi
Monsieur's Alman Variatio. Lxii
Alman Clvi
A Gigg Clxxxi
Pavan Cclvi
Ut, Mi, Re Cii
Wolsey's Wilde Clvii
Praeludium XXIV
Alman Lxiii
Corranto Ccxli
Pescodd Time Cclxxvi
The Ghost Clxii
O Mistris Myne Lxvi
Sir John Gray's Galliard Cxci
Gipseis Round Ccxvi
Malt's Come Down Cl
A Medley Clxxiii
Corranto Lady Riche Cclxv
Heaven And Earth Cv
Praeludium Cli
A Toye Cclxviii
Why Aske You Clxi
Allemanda Cclxxiv
Praeludium Cxx
Corranto Cclxvi

UPC: 5028421956480
Label: Brilliant Classics
Release Date: 5.1.20
Format: CD

Byrd / Belder - Fitzwilliam Virginal Book 7 (CD)