Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
It's well known that King Henry VIII was a composer, but he's generally represented by one or two pieces on collections of English Renaissance music rather than being treated as the central figure in a flourishing artistic culture. Exactly how much music he wrote is a matter of dispute, but this disc by the English vocal group Alamire and wind consort QuintEssential, with harpist Andrew Lawrence-King, presents a generous sampling of nine vocal and instrumental pieces (although Pastime with Good Company, recorded by musicians as recent as Jethro Tull, is omitted), along with music written for Henry by other composers. These are perhaps the most interesting and unusual, especially the group of six Motets from a Royal Choirbook (tracks 7-12). Four of these are the product of a composer known only as Sampson, and, more curiously still, thought to be German. Check out the canonic Salve radix (track 7), whose lovely score is reproduced on the back of the booklet; the spiral shape of the score is replicated in the piece's harmonic motion. The setting, likewise by the elusive Sampson, of the Quam pulcra es text from the Song of Songs, is termed by director and annotator David Skinner "with its erotic ovetones . . . an odd inclusion in this royal gift" (the choirbook was a gift to Henry and Catherine of Aragon), although one can think of plenty of reasons Henry and his outsized personality might have inspired such a decision. The works by Henry himself might be described as competent but simple; the program as a whole defines a nice contrast between imposing sacred pieces and a secular sphere in which the king could musically hold his own. The performances of the 12-voice mixed-gender adult choir Alamire (named for the compiler of the motet book) are among the best available in this repertory; the group conveys the quality of free fantasy, counterbalanced by complex abstraction, in the music and avoids the ponderousness that often turns large works like Fayrfax's concluding Lauda vivi alpha et o into undifferentiated blobs. All in all, a fine addition to English Renaissance collections.
© TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From kr133,33/month
Christe Jesu pastor bone (John Taverner)
Quintessential - Alamire - David Skinner, conductor
(C) 2009 Obsidian (P) 2009 Obsidian
King's Pavan (Anonyme)
Quintessential - Alamire - David Skinner, conductor
(C) 2009 Obsidian (P) 2009 Obsidian
England be glad (Anonyme)
Quintessential - Alamire - David Skinner, conductor
(C) 2009 Obsidian (P) 2009 Obsidian
Consort No. 12 (Henry VIII)
Quintessential - Alamire - David Skinner, conductor
(C) 2009 Obsidian (P) 2009 Obsidian
Madame d'Amours
Quintessential - Alamire - David Skinner, conductor
(C) 2009 Obsidian (P) 2009 Obsidian
Taunder naken a 3 (Henry VIII)
Quintessential - Alamire - David Skinner, conductor
(C) 2009 Obsidian (P) 2009 Obsidian
Salve radix
Quintessential - Alamire - David Skinner, conductor
(C) 2009 Obsidian (P) 2009 Obsidian
Psallite felices
Quintessential - Alamire - David Skinner, conductor
(C) 2009 Obsidian (P) 2009 Obsidian
Sub tuum praesidium (Benedictus de Opitiis)
Quintessential - Alamire - David Skinner, conductor
(C) 2009 Obsidian (P) 2009 Obsidian
Quam pulcra est
Quintessential - Alamire - David Skinner, conductor
(C) 2009 Obsidian (P) 2009 Obsidian
Hec est praeclarum vas (Anonyme)
Quintessential - Alamire - David Skinner, conductor
(C) 2009 Obsidian (P) 2009 Obsidian
Beati omnes qui timent Dominum (Jacotin)
Quintessential - Alamire - David Skinner, conductor
(C) 2009 Obsidian (P) 2009 Obsidian
Consort No. 13 (Henry VIII)
Quintessential - Alamire - David Skinner, conductor
(C) 2009 Obsidian (P) 2009 Obsidian
O my hart and O my hart
Quintessential - Alamire - David Skinner, conductor
(C) 2009 Obsidian (P) 2009 Obsidian
Helas madam (Henry VIII)
Quintessential - Alamire - David Skinner, conductor
(C) 2009 Obsidian (P) 2009 Obsidian
Though sum saith that yough rulyth me
Quintessential - Alamire - David Skinner, conductor
(C) 2009 Obsidian (P) 2009 Obsidian
Nil majus superi vident (Philippe Verdelot)
Quintessential - Alamire - David Skinner, conductor
(C) 2009 Obsidian (P) 2009 Obsidian
Consort No. 8 (Henry VIII)
Quintessential - Alamire - David Skinner, conductor
(C) 2009 Obsidian (P) 2009 Obsidian
Adieu madame
Quintessential - Alamire - David Skinner, conductor
(C) 2009 Obsidian (P) 2009 Obsidian
En vray amoure (Henry VIII)
Quintessential - Alamire - David Skinner, conductor
(C) 2009 Obsidian (P) 2009 Obsidian
Lauda vivi alpha (Robert Fayrfax)
Quintessential - Alamire - David Skinner, conductor
(C) 2009 Obsidian (P) 2009 Obsidian
Album review
It's well known that King Henry VIII was a composer, but he's generally represented by one or two pieces on collections of English Renaissance music rather than being treated as the central figure in a flourishing artistic culture. Exactly how much music he wrote is a matter of dispute, but this disc by the English vocal group Alamire and wind consort QuintEssential, with harpist Andrew Lawrence-King, presents a generous sampling of nine vocal and instrumental pieces (although Pastime with Good Company, recorded by musicians as recent as Jethro Tull, is omitted), along with music written for Henry by other composers. These are perhaps the most interesting and unusual, especially the group of six Motets from a Royal Choirbook (tracks 7-12). Four of these are the product of a composer known only as Sampson, and, more curiously still, thought to be German. Check out the canonic Salve radix (track 7), whose lovely score is reproduced on the back of the booklet; the spiral shape of the score is replicated in the piece's harmonic motion. The setting, likewise by the elusive Sampson, of the Quam pulcra es text from the Song of Songs, is termed by director and annotator David Skinner "with its erotic ovetones . . . an odd inclusion in this royal gift" (the choirbook was a gift to Henry and Catherine of Aragon), although one can think of plenty of reasons Henry and his outsized personality might have inspired such a decision. The works by Henry himself might be described as competent but simple; the program as a whole defines a nice contrast between imposing sacred pieces and a secular sphere in which the king could musically hold his own. The performances of the 12-voice mixed-gender adult choir Alamire (named for the compiler of the motet book) are among the best available in this repertory; the group conveys the quality of free fantasy, counterbalanced by complex abstraction, in the music and avoids the ponderousness that often turns large works like Fayrfax's concluding Lauda vivi alpha et o into undifferentiated blobs. All in all, a fine addition to English Renaissance collections.
© TiVo
Details of original recording : 66:51 - DDD - Enregistré en 2008 - Notes en anglais
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 21 track(s)
- Total length: 01:15:36
- Main artists: Andrew Lawrence-King Alamire Quintessential David Skinner
- Composer: Robert Fayrfax
- Label: Obsidian
- Genre: Classical
(C) 2009 Obsidian (P) 2009 Obsidian
Improve album informationWhy buy on Qobuz...
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalogue with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.