Flora Gave Me Fairest Flowers

Editorial Reviews
Album Description
"an absolute joy" - Music and Musicians Hi-Fi News and Record Review Record of the Month The sixteenth-century madrigal was an Italian form. The term ‘madrigal’ was loosely applied to a wide variety of music, but generally denoted a polyphonic setting for four or more voices of an amorous or pastoral text which was closely depicted in the music. Thomas Morely transplanted the form into England in the 1590s; this marked the beginning of the brief but brilliant flowering of the English madrigal. Between the 1590s and the early 1620s, twenty composers published a total of 36 books of madrigals, after which the form virtually disappeared. Some of these composers, such as Morely and Weelkes, followed the Italian model closely; others, such as Byrd and Gibbons, mostly stayed with the simpler English form of the consort song, where the tune remains in one voice, word-painting is not used, and strophic form is preferred to the continuous structure of the madrigal proper. Among the twenty-one items selected for this recording there are examples of several types of piece,! ranging from true Italianate madrigals such as Too much I once lamented, via more popular ‘balletts’ such as Fyer, fyer!, to the simple part-songs like A little pretty bonny lass. The variety, imagination, and inspired blending of poetry and music characteristic of the best of the ‘English Madrigal School’ afford a particular kind of delight in performance, shared equally by singer and listener

Tracks:

Thomas WEELKES: Hark, all ye lovely saints above
William BYRD: Though Amaryllis dance in green
John BENNET: Round about in a fair ring
Thomas TOMKINS: Adieu, ye city-prisoning towers
Thomas WILBYE: Flora gave me fairest flowers
Thomas VAUTOR: Sweet Suffolk owl
Thomas WEELKES: As Vesta was from Latmos hill descending
William BYRD: Lullaby
William BYRD: This sweet and merry month of May
Thomas MORLEY: Now is the month of maying
John FARMER: A little pretty bonny lass
Thomas MORELY: Fyer, fyer!
Thomas TOMKINS: Too much I once lamented
Thomas MORLEY: My bonny lass she smileth
Thomas WEELKES: Ha ha! this world doth pass
Michael EAST: Quick, quick, away, dispatch
Orlando GIBBONS: Dainty fine bird
John DOWLAND: Come again! Sweet love doth now invite
Thomas VAUTOR: Mother, I will have a husband
Thomas WILBYE: Draw on, sweet night
Robert RAMSEY: Sleep, fleshly birth
Thomas WILBYE: Weep, weep, mine eyes
Thomas WEELKES: Death hath deprived me
Orlando GIBBONS: The silver swan
Thomas WILBYE: Adieu, sweet Amaryllis

Album Description

"an absolute joy" - Music and Musicians Hi-Fi News and Record Review Record of the Month The sixteenth-century madrigal was an Italian form. The term `madrigal' was loosely applied to a wide variety of music, but generally denoted a polyphonic setting for four or more voices of an amorous or pastoral text which was closely depicted in the music. Thomas Morely transplanted the form into England in the 1590s; this marked the beginning of the brief but brilliant flowering of the English madrigal. Between the 1590s and the early 1620s, twenty composers published a total of 36 books of madrigals, after which the form virtually disappeared. Some of these composers, such as Morely and Weelkes, followed the Italian model closely; others, such as Byrd and Gibbons, mostly stayed with the simpler English form of the consort song, where the tune remains in one voice, word-painting is not used, and strophic form is preferred to the continuous structure of the madrigal proper. Among the twenty-one items selected for this recording there are examples of several types of piece,! ranging from true Italianate madrigals such as Too much I once lamented, via more popular `balletts' such as Fyer, fyer!, to the simple part-songs like A little pretty bonny lass. The variety, imagination, and inspired blending of poetry and music characteristic of the best of the `English Madrigal School' afford a particular kind of delight in performance, shared equally by singer and listener

Flora Gave Me Fairest Flowers/English Madrigals

Average customer rating:

Flora Gave Me Fairest Flowers/English Madrigals

Manufacturer: Collegium Records
ProductGroup: Classical
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B000FVU63A

Product Description

The 16th centruy madrigal was an Italian form. The term 'madrigal' was loosely applied to a wide variety of music, but generally denoted a polyphonic setting for four or more voices of an amorous or pastoral text which was closely depicted in the music. Among the twenty-one items selected for this recording there are examples of several types of pieces, ranging from true Italian madrigals, via more popular "balletts" to simple part-songs like "A little pretty bonny lass". The variety, imagination, and inspired blending of poetry and music characterisitic of the best of the "English Madrigal School" afford a particular kind of delight in performance, shared equally by singer and listener.

Average customer rating:

Truly Divine!

The English Madrigal School

Manufacturer: Vanguard Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Partsongs | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0000023C5
Release Date: 1995-02-07

Tracks:

Ho! Who Comes Here?
Cease Sorrows Now
Mother, I Will Have A Husband
In Going To My Naked Bed
To Shorten Winter's Sadness
O Care, Thou Wilt Despatch Me
Of All The Birds That I Do Know
All Creatures Now Are Merry-Minded
Sweet Nymph
Weep O Mine Eyes
The Ape, The Monkey, And The Baboon
Oft Have I Vowed
Strike It Up, Tabor
Hope Of My Heart
Sweet Honey-Sucking Bees
Defiled Is My Name
On The Plains, Fairy Trains
When Griping Griefs
All At Once Well Met
Like As The Doleful Dove
The Bitter Sweet

Tracks:

Flora Gave Me Fairest Flowers
O Happy Dames
Young Cupid Hath Proclaimed
The Happy Life ('My Friends')
Thule, The Period Of Cosmography
I Smile To See How You Devised
Benedicam Domino
Lady, When I behold
Adieu, Sweet Amaryllis
Now Is The Month Of Maying
In Dew Of Roses
Shoot, False Love, I Care Not
Miraculous Love's Wounding!
Hark, Alleluia Cheerly
Arise, Get Up, My Dear
Leave This Tormenting
I Go Before, My Darling
Say, Gentle Nymphs
Good Morrow, Fair Ladies
April Is In My Mistress' Face
Though Philomela Lost Her Love
Hard By A Crystal Fountain
Whither Away, So Fast
I Follow, Lo, The Footing
O Grief!
When, Lo, By Break Of Morning
Besides A Fountain
Fire! Fire! My Heart!

Customer Reviews:

Truly Divine!.......2001-07-24

I was pleased with the bountiful variety of madrigals which were provided. The singers were quite good! Although, I could have have used much more presence within the bass parts. Also, "Hark, Alleluia Cheerly!" was not sung in its original key of e minor! After being exposed to many interpretations of "O Grief evn on the Bud" I would have enjoyed a more "swelling experience" for this album. Overall, the album provides a stellar and solid performace on the most popular madrigal works.

Average customer rating:

Best English Madrigal recording ever
Crisp, choral perfection

Flora Gave Me Fairest Flowers: English Madrigals

Manufacturer: Collegium
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Partsongs | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Tracks:

Madrigals Of Love And Marriage: My Bonny Lass She Smileth
Madrigals Of Love And Marriage: Quick, Quick, Away, Dispatch!
Madrigals Of Love And Marriage: Dainty Fine Bird
Madrigals Of Love And Marriage: Though Amaryllis Dance In Green - William Byrd
Madrigals Of Love And Marriage: Hark, All Ye Lovely Saints Above
Madrigals Of Love And Marriage: Weep, Weep, Mine Eyes
Madrigals Of Love And Marriage: Flora Gave Me Finest Flowers
Madrigals Of Love And Marriage: Fyer, Fyer!
Madrigals Of Love And Marriage: Too Much I Once Lamented
Madrigals Of Love And Marriage: A Little Pretty Bonny Lass
Madrigals Of Times And Seasons: Now Is The Month Of Maying
Madrigals Of Times And Seasons: Draw On, Sweet Night
Madrigals Of Times And Seasons: This Sweet And Merry Month Of May - William Byrd
Madrigals Of Times And Seasons: Adieu, Ye City-Prisoning Towers
Madrigals Of Times And Seasons: Lullaby - William Byrd
Fairies. Spirites, And Conceits: Round About In A Fair Ring
Fairies. Spirites, And Conceits: Ha Ha! This World Doth Pass
Fairies. Spirites, And Conceits: Adieu, Sweet Amaryllis
Fairies. Spirites, And Conceits: Death Hath Deprived Me
Fairies. Spirites, And Conceits: Sleep, Fleshly Birth
Fairies. Spirites, And Conceits: The Silver Swan

Customer Reviews:

Best English Madrigal recording ever.......2005-09-05

I have sung in one madrigal choir and formed and directed my own madrigal ensemble, so I am familiar with most of the selections in this recording. It is difficult to bring off some of these pieces as listening music, since many of them were written to be enjoyed as recreational music for the performers, and not for consumption by an audience. Still, with the incredible clarity and musicality displayed in this recording, you would never know that - the recording succeeds brilliantly in conveying the spirit of the English madrigal. Most other madrigal records sound as if the producer rounded up a bunch of operatic soloists and asked them to compete with each other to see which could stick out the most. The Cambridge Singers, in contrast, sound like a madrigal ensemble should - beautifully blended, with each part showing great sensitivity to surrending the melodic interest to the next when the moment arises. At the same time, if you are interested in following the individual lines, this recording enables you to do so with ease. The quality of the voices is wonderful - there is a complete lack of pretentiousness and the timbre of each voice accords nicely within the ensemble to achieve a lovely balance. This is by far the best recording of English madrigals on the market - at last a madrigal recording with the needs of the listener in mind, rather than the performers! As one who has sung many of these pieces on many occasions, I found myself completely rethinking the performance quality of such pieces as "Hark All Ye Lovely Saints Above." Also, the tempos are pretty much perfect, my only quarrel being with the tempo of the signature tune "Flora Gave me Fairest Flowers" which seems a bit slow. My one regret is the ommission of Orlando Gibbons "What is Our Life?", perhaps the most extended duet between words and music in the English madrigal. Perhaps Rutter and the Cambridge Singers should get together again and do a volume II!

Crisp, choral perfection.......2000-10-20

This is a delightful sampling of the popular English madrigals you sang in high school or college choirs. Rutter and the Cambridge Singers are superb, running spirited romps through Byrd's "Though Amaryllis dance in green" and Eastman's "Quick, quick, away dispatch." Equally impressive are Wilbye's expressive and mournful "Weep mine eyes" and "Adieu, sweet Amaryllis." The women's voices are light and crystalline without heavy vibrato.

Track Listings:

Track Listings

track listings

Track Listings

Insignificance

Romberg: The Desert Song/ The New Moon/ The Blue Train

Still Life

On View at the Five Spot Cafe [Live]

ABC & D: The Best of Frankiie Sidebottom

Someone to Love You/Will You Be Mine [CD-single]

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (2005 Original Broadway Cast) [Soundtrack]

Revelations [Original recording remastered]

Rock Roll People

Rameau: Dardanus; Le Temple de la Gloire (Orchestral Suites)

Point of Departure [Import]

Partners

Pura Dinameta

Electric Snow: Best of Bugs Henderson

101 Digital Sound Effects: Sounds of Horror