This latest release in The Cardinall’s Musick complete Byrd Edition is surely one of the most eagerly-awaited events in
the early music calendar. Previous discs in this award-winning survey of the greatest composer of the age have
commanded the highest possible critical acclaim. Performances of filigree clarity, yet great passion and sincerity, allow
the composer’s particular genius to shine forth in an unhindered blaze of glory.
The works in this eleventh volume present Byrd the recusant: covering the last year of his fashionable career in London
and moving to a quieter life in the Essex countryside. The music is from two sources: the magnificent Cantiones Sacrae of
1591 and the Gradualia from 1607. The seven motets from 1591 show Byrd to be pre-occupied with thoughts of
desolation, loss, deprivation and separation—familiar ideas for the recusant Catholic community. A feeling of angst in
the music is leavened by a sense of salvation and a glimmer of hope which is the composer’s constant refrain. The
Gradualia are some of the most imaginative, modern-sounding and energetic music that the composer ever wrote.
The Cardinall’s inspirational director Andrew Carwood sets the scene with fascinating booklet notes that illustrate the
complex political and religious circumstances in which this great music was engendered