Utwory na płycie:

• Rorate coeli
• Vigilate
• Hodie beata Virgo Maria
• Alleluia. Senex puerum portabat
• Ne irascaris Domine
• Civitas sancti tui
• Terra tremuit
• Haec dies
• Tollite portas
• Alleluia. Ascendit Deus. Dominus in Sina
• Factus est repente
• Non vos relinquam orphanos
• O lux beata Trinitas
• Laudibus in sanctis
• Ave verum corpus
• Sacerdotes Domini
• Iustorum animae
• O quam gloriosum
• Ave Maria

Rorate coeli
Vigilate
Hodie beata Virgo
Alleluia - Senex puerum
Ne irascaris
Civitas sancti tui
Terra tremuit
Haec dies
Tollite portas
Alleluia – Ascendit Deus – Dominus in Sina
Factus est repente
Non vos relinquam orphanos
O lux beata Trinitas
Laudibus in sanctis
Ave verum Corpus
Sacerdotes Domini
Iustorum animae
O quam gloriosum
Ave Maria

One of the most celebrated English composers of the Renaissance, William Byrd wrote Latin sacred music throughout his professional career, despite the fact that such pieces were banned from being used in church. Most of the music that Byrd composed during his early years was not connected to his official role at all, but was devised as chamber music for performance elsewhere, much of it in clandestine Catholic households.

In the course of a long productive life which spanned the reigns of three monarchs and witnessed turbulent religious unrest, Byrd not only continued his activities as a dissident Catholic composer working in a staunchly Protestant environment, but also published five collections of Latin sacred music. He composed music for every significant day in the Catholic liturgical calendar, and all the while appearing in the public eye as the dutiful servant of the Anglican establishment.

The motets on this recording are presented in the order in which they appear in the pre-Reformation church year, beginning with Advent. The remarkable range of form, texture and colour in his music allows Stephen Cleobury to showcase the voices of the Choir, as well as the legendary acoustics of the Chapel, in all their glory. Most of the motets are presented here performed by the whole Choir, with a small selection – including the rousing Vigilate and Byrd’s masterpiece Ne irascaris, Domine – performed by the Choral Scholars of the Choir. Accompanying the recording is a specially-commissioned essay on ‘Byrd the Catholic’.

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Recording: January, April & June 2017, Chapel of King’s College, Cambridge