This is a coupled set of two previously released discs of the Catholic and Anglican compositions of England’s greatest composer, William Byrd. It is a good deal; the previous issues each contained much less music than what we get here (almost 80 minutes per disc), and also included are several smaller pieces from a smattering of the other albums by the Tallis Scholars, who have performed Byrd continuously since their inception.
These 2001 and 2002 CD releases are splendid in all respects. By now reviewing the Tallis Scholars is almost a superfluous exercise—there are simply no finer ensembles of their type singing this repertory anywhere, fine though so many recordings of this music are. But for careful preparation, intelligent scholarship, and perfected performances, you simply can’t go wrong with almost anything they have recorded, and that is especially true when it comes to William Byrd. These discs are two-for-one (though Gimell is still expensive), and as a set it produces a formidable example of the music of Byrd written both as a recusant and as a loyal composer to Elizabeth I’s England. The three masses are splendid examples of his personal art at its finest, and the Great Service takes its place as one of the masterpieces of Anglican Church music. All in all, you can’t possibly go wrong with this set, in splendid sound.
— Steven Ritter
