BYRD Quis est homo? Tribulatio proxima est. Apparebit in finem. Salve sancta parens. Alleluia Ave Maria. Alleluia Virga Jesse. Beata est virgo. Beata viscera. Regina caeli. Salve regina. Fac cum servo tuo. Ecce quam bonum. In manus tuas. Unam petii. Visita quaesumus. Domine exaudi orationem meam inclina. Laudibus in sanctis • Andrew Carwood, dir; The Cardinal’s Musick • HYPERION 67568 (69:45 &)

As the label has made clear, Andrew Carwood has moved to Hyperion to continue his complete works of William Byrd after nine discs on ASV (Gaudeamus on the last two issues). In the same pattern as before, he has reached the Cantiones Sacrae of 1591, inserting a set of Mass Propers (the Ladymass in Eastertide) and five other motets from the Gradualia. It is already two decades since Edward Higginbottom recorded a selection of music from the 1591 book, but only three pieces are duplicated here. Not surprisingly, the book’s big hit, Laudibus in sanctis, began that program (as it led off the edition) and concludes this one. The other two, Tribulatio proxima est and Fac cum servo tuo, were first recordings there and apparently only their second here. For the rest of the 1591 selections, only the Salve regina à 5 has been recorded before. The Marian Mass Propers were part of Gavin Turner’s collection of Gradualia movements (14:5), a “Volume 1” on this label that never led to a second.

Hence Carwood continues his plan to distribute the Gradualia pieces sparingly through the series of discs, a wise choice (as Turner’s unfortunately tight concentration of those pieces proved). He is close to an ideal interpreter of this music, his insight into the music combining with his sympathy for the composer. The change of labels has no effect on the quality of the product, for the recordings continue to be made by the same staff. (Many other groups operate in the same way, delivering the completed disc for distribution.) The program is effectively arranged, for Quis est homo? is an appeal for right living drawn from Psalm 33 that opens the program as strongly as the masterly Laudibus in sanctis (a paraphrase of Psalm 150) closes it. We look forward eagerly to the completion of this project. If you have not heard the previous discs, this is as good a place as any to start. If you know the earlier issues, you will need no encouragement.

FANFARE: J. F. Weber