Renaissance composer Christopher Tye is remembered for his sacred choral music, particularly for the hymn tune Winchester Old, also known as While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks, but his instrumental works hold a special significance for being among the earliest examples of English chamber music. Tye's output has been criticized for being densely textured and loose in structure, and it has been compared unfavorably to the works of Tye's younger and more admired contemporary, William Byrd. Yet this album by the viol consort ...
Read More
Renaissance composer Christopher Tye is remembered for his sacred choral music, particularly for the hymn tune Winchester Old, also known as While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks, but his instrumental works hold a special significance for being among the earliest examples of English chamber music. Tye's output has been criticized for being densely textured and loose in structure, and it has been compared unfavorably to the works of Tye's younger and more admired contemporary, William Byrd. Yet this album by the viol consort Phantasm demonstrates that Tye was capable, assured, and even daring in his contrapuntal invention and use of cross-relations for expressive effect, and it provides compelling evidence of Tye's musical sophistication. The In nomine , a form derived from the Benedictus of John Taverner's Missa Gloria Tibi, was particularly fruitful in Tye's hands, though the 21 examples on this program have a secular rather than liturgical feeling, perhaps suggesting their use as court music,...
Read Less
