BARGAIN OF THE MONTH
William BYRD (1539?/43?-1623)
Mass for Five Voices (c.1595)* [26:02]
Mass for Four Voices (c.1592)** [22:43]
Mass for Three Voices (early 1590s)*** [19:24]
Ave Verum Corpus (Gradualia, 1605)** [4:04]
Christ Church Cathedral Choir, Oxford/Stephen Darlington
rec. Dorchester Abbey, Oxon., UK, 13-14 November, 1989*, 29-30 October, 1990**,
13-14 May 1991***. DDD
REGIS RRC1336 [72:11] 
These recordings are taken from three Nimbus CDs, NI5237, 5287 and 5320, which
I reviewed jointly some time ago – see review.
Nimbus issued them separately, each with an appropriate coupling – the 5-part
with the Propers for All Saints’ Day, the 4-part with those for Corpus Christi,
including the Ave verum Corpus on the new Regis CD, and the 3-part
with those for the Nativity.
I was torn then between the virtues of The Tallis Scholars on a 2-for-1 Gimmel
reissue – the three masses and Ave verum Corpus, plus The Great Service
– and the advantages of having the Masses sung by Christ Church choir as they
would have been in a liturgical celebration with the Introit, etc., for a
particular day. That option remains open, as the Nimbus CDs are still available
– and can be ordered direct from MusicWeb International – but the reissue
on a single CD at super-budget price is obviously very appealing.
The advantages of having Christ Church Choir sing this music are obvious:
this is a college/cathedral choir which performs this kind of repertoire regularly
at daily services. Moreover, the constitution of the choir has remained unchanged
since the college was founded by Cardinal Wolsey, before even Byrd was born.
Though that doesn’t mean that the sound is what Byrd would have expected,
it does mean that their singing of renaissance English music is special.
The Tallis Scholars sing with a combination of men’s and women’s voices, but
they are probably closer in size to the forces which Byrd would have had at
his disposal. While he could think in terms of the Chapel Royal for his settings
of the English liturgy in the Great Service, Second Service and Anthems, the
Latin Mass had to be celebrated hugger-mugger in small private chapels such
as that of Byrd’s patrons, the Petres, at Ingatestone in Essex.
Excellent as the singing of the Christ Church choir is, The Tallis Scholars
– whose base is also in Oxford and whose director cut his teeth in the same
tradition as the choir – are a professional group whose work I consistently
admire. Their recording costs slightly more than the Regis reissue, but you
also obtain a wonderful performance of The Great Service and three
English anthems. It comes with all the texts and translations, which the Regis
CD doesn’t contain and it can also be downloaded for £7.99 (mp3) or £8.99
(lossless), which actually makes it more than competitive with the Regis.
(The Tallis Scholars sing William Byrd, CDGIM208 – here).
The Tallis Scholars are not renowned as speed merchants, but their timings
for the Byrd Masses are generally slightly faster than those adopted by Stephen
Darlington. I suspect that he takes the music a little more slowly because
he’s used to the acoustic of Christ Church chapel, even though these recordings
were made in the friendlier acoustic of Dorchester Abbey, a few miles down
the road. Despite a preference for the Scholars, I didn’t think that the Christ
Church tempi dragged at any point – they are generally solemn and dignified
rather than exuberant. In Ave verum Corpus, they are actually very
slightly faster than the Scholars, without losing the sense of reverence appropriate
to the work.
That motet is taken from Byrd’s 1605 collection of Gradualia, performed
out of context on the Regis CD and on the Gimell set, but in its proper context
as part of the Mass for Corpus Christi in its position on the original Nimbus
recording. Fine though the performance is, these pieces do benefit from being
sung in context, but only you can decide whether that warrants the outlay
on three CDs as opposed to purchasing the single Regis disc. If you would
like to listen to more of these Gradualia, you’ll find them on the
Cardinall’s Musick recordings which I’ve mentioned – the earlier CDs on the
ASV label are not easy to find, but the later volumes on Hyperion are. Hyperion
also have a single CD from the Gradualia – William Byrd Choir/Gavin
Turner on budget-price CDH55047.
There’s another recording in the same price bracket as the Regis: Jeremy Summerly
directing another Oxford-based ensemble, the Oxford Camerata on Naxos (8.550574).
The snag is that it offers only the four- and five-part Masses, plus Infelix
ego. You’ll probably want all three Masses – and Infelix ego has
a serious rival: it’s the piece which gives its name to the crowning achievement
of Andrew Carwood’s and The Cardinall’s Musick’s recent complete survey of
Byrd’s music. (Hyperion CDA67779: Recording of the Month – see review
and Download of the Month – see February
2010 Roundup).
Neither the Naxos nor the Regis CDs come with texts; those for the ordinary
of the Mass and Ave verum Corpus are not hard to find online, but it’s
still a nuisance to have to search for them.
All the recordings mentioned sound very well. Christ Church were recorded
in their favourite venue down the road at Dorchester and the sound has been
well re-mastered for Regis, levelling out the different recording dates. The
re-mastering even seems to have ironed out the slightly distant recording
in the three-part work. If you just want the three Masses and Ave verum
Corpus at super-budget price, this is an excellent bargain of the same
order as another Nimbus-sourced Regis recording, Masters of the English
Renaissance (RRC1320 – see December
2010 Download Roundup).
Brian Wilson
Despite the strong competition, this is a superb bargain.