Gibbons: Consort and Keyboard Music; Songs and Anthems

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Music reviews of Gibbons: Consort and Keyboard Music; Songs and Anthems

Music Review: Behold, thou hast made my day
Rating: 5 Stars

There are nearly 70 minutes of music here, and the plan seems to have been to give as broad a representation as possible of the output of this notable composer. There are 23 items in total, featuring music for accompanied solo voice and 5-part ensemble, keyboard compositions played on three different types of instrument, and items for viol ensembles of 2,3,4,and 6 instruments. Thought and care has obviously gone into the sequencing of the pieces, and the recital ends powerfully with a 5-part anthem `Glorious and Powerful God' led off by a gent with a truly terrific bass voice. One notable inclusion is an In Nomine for 4 viols. An In Nomine is actually a musical form, and a specifically English one, consisting of a free fantasia on a canto fermo deriving originally from plainsong via a mass by John Taverner. Solo status is accorded to Timothy Roberts who performs the three keyboard numbers, and to Tessa Bonner the soprano soloist in the seven pieces of that nature. I had the opportunity to compare her in The Silver Swan with Rachel Elliott on another outstanding Gibbons disc, by a group calling themselves Concordia (director Mark Levy), and you may actually prefer, as I do, the way Concordia do it. The piece benefits from Concordia's slower tempo, and my personal preference is for Elliott's voice, although she does use a modicum of vibrato, so this preference will not be shared by everyone. Their disc goes under the title Go From My Window, which is not a song but a set of 10 variations on a `ditty' by that title. In this piece I have to give my vote to Concordia again, as they give it with colossal panache and virtuosity - I'm not surprised they elected to call the disc after it. In fact the two recitals have another 4 pieces in common, and in these I can find nothing to choose between the two groups, so fine do both seem to me.

Enthusiasts for music of this period, and anyone even curious about it, are also recommended a keyboard recital , by John Kitchen, of works by the Scottish composer Kinloch, music that surprised even me (Scottish myself) by its outstanding quality. Long may enterprises like these continue.

Description of Gibbons: Consort and Keyboard Music; Songs and Anthems

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