Call to mind the sound-world of the Tudor church and we tend to think of soaring, ethereal treble lines with falsetto counter-tenors below them in the choir. In fact, there is no evidence that a Tudor listener would have recognised the sound of either. A Venetian visitor to the Chapel Royal, for instance, commented that 'the English counterbasses probably have not their equal in the world'. This programme highlights the amazing wealth of Tudor church music written for men’s voices, from the staggeringly ornate music of the Eton Choirbook to the distilled simplicity of Tallis and Byrd. Sung in Elizabethan pronunciation, and without falsettists, this programme illustrates the radical results of Simon Ravens' published research.

Musica Contexta

Simon Lillystone, Alistair Brookshaw, Ben Rayfield, Mark Williams, Andrew Hope, Simon Ravens, Tony Purves, Chris Hunter & Ed Saddington

Programme

John Browne Stabat Virgo Mater Christi

Chant Salve regina celorum

Edmund Sturton Gaude Virgo Mater Christi

Chant Hymn: Inventor rutili

John Taverner Dum Transiset a 4

Chant Hymn: Jam Christus astra ascenderat

John Sheppard Spiritus sanctus

John Sheppard I give you a new commandement

Chant (Tonus pregrinus) When Israel came out of Egypt

Thomas Tallis Hear the Voice & Prayer

Chant (Merbecke) Creed

Thomas Tallis Benedictus

Robert White Regina Coeli

William Byrd Agnus Dei (Mass for 3 voices)

William Byrd Defecit in Dolore