British vocal group Gallicantus, here a vocal octet, does not strive for the uncanny blend pursued by other ensembles with a small number of singers per part; instead they offer performances and presentations that bring deep context to Renaissance music and strive to differentiate the music of one composer from another's. It works well in his collection of music by the little-recorded Robert White, who was born in the early 1530s and died of plague in 1574. Most of his surviving pieces date from the early part of Elizabeth ...
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British vocal group Gallicantus, here a vocal octet, does not strive for the uncanny blend pursued by other ensembles with a small number of singers per part; instead they offer performances and presentations that bring deep context to Renaissance music and strive to differentiate the music of one composer from another's. It works well in his collection of music by the little-recorded Robert White, who was born in the early 1530s and died of plague in 1574. Most of his surviving pieces date from the early part of Elizabeth I's reign. That raises the question of why all but one are in Latin. It is unknown whether White, like Byrd a generation later, was working for underground Catholics, whether he benefited from Elizabeth's protection as Byrd did, or whether he worked in Latin-language musical settings that survived during Elizabeth's first years. Whatever the case, the music is a fascinating mix of old and new. You wouldn't pick White to listen to over Byrd, but he was clearly Byrd's predecessor: The...
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