The King’s Singers & Fretwork – Tom + Will (Weelkes & Byrd: 400 Years)

Contents

Byrd: Praise our Lord, all ye Gentiles /King’s Singers, Fretwork

Byrd: If women could be fair – Ah, silly soul /Christopher Bruerton, King’s Singers, Fretwork

Weelkes: Say dear, when will your frowning /Edward Button, Jonathan Howard, King’s Singers, Fretwork

Weelkes: Like two proud armies /King’s Singers

Weelkes: Pavan [3] – Mr Weelkes his 3. Pavin’ /Fretwork

Weelkes: Thule, the period of cosmography /King’s Singers

Weelkes: What joy so true /Edward Button, Julian Gregory, Patrick Dunachie, King’s Singers, Fretwork

Weelkes: In Nomine in 4 parts /Fretwork

Byrd: Ye sacred muses – an elegy for Thomas Tallis /Patrick Dunachie, King’s Singers, Fretwork

MacMillan: Ye Sacred Muses /King’s Singers, Fretwork

Weelkes: In Nomine a 5 /Fretwork

Weelkes: Hark All Ye Lovely Saints /King’s Singers

Weelkes: Death hath deprived me /King’s Singers

Williams, Roderick: Death Be Not Proud /King’s Singers, Fretwork

Weelkes: In Nomine a 5 /Fretwork

Byrd: Who made thee Hob forsake the plough? /Christopher Bruerton, Nick Ashby, King’s Singers, Fretwork

Byrd: The sweet and merry month of May /King’s Singers

Byrd: Browning (The Leaves be Green) King’s Singers, Fretwork

Byrd: Alack, when I look back /Julian Gregory, King’s Singers, Fretwork

Byrd: O Lord, make thy servant Elizabeth /King’s Singers

400 years ago, in 1623, England lost two of it’s greatest composers: William Byrd and Thomas Weelkes. In a program marking this double anniversary, The King’s Singers and Fretwork turn their focus to the bold personalities of these two men, Will and Tom. Featuring well-known gems by the two composers, alongside works which had never been recorded before and which are rarely heard live, Tom and Will unlocks some of the humanity behind these two giants of Elizabethan music. Presented in The King’s Singers’ unique style, this program is filled with beauty, drama and storytelling. As part of this project, The King’s Singers and Fretwork have commissioned two new works for their joint forces, by two of Britain’s great living composers: Sir James MacMillan and Roderick Williams. These works only feature in the version performed by The King’s Singers and Fretwork, but represent a commitment to keeping the spirit of Byrd and Weelkes alive in today’s musical landscape.

From Weelkes we have the immensely subtle Hark all ye lovely saints, set to springy, vertiginous changes of metre beautifully negotiated by the singers, and his In nomine a 4, performed in a delightfully skittish manner by Fretwork…this new release is one of the finest recordings of this repertoire and can be warmly recommended. — BBC Music Magazine, February 2023, 5 out of 5 stars (Performance) / 4 out of 5 stars (Recording)