The 500th anniversary of the death of English Renaissance composer Robert Fayrfax may not be front-page news in the musical press, but his soaring, sinuous lines, seemingly of a piece with Britain's older layer of cathedrals, are entirely distinctive, and his music merits a sampling of the kind offered here. Music for Tudor Kings & Queens is an up-to-the-moment release in several ways beyond marking the Fayrfax anniversary. It is the debut recording of the young Ensemble Pro Victoria, which holds to the fashion for one- or ...
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The 500th anniversary of the death of English Renaissance composer Robert Fayrfax may not be front-page news in the musical press, but his soaring, sinuous lines, seemingly of a piece with Britain's older layer of cathedrals, are entirely distinctive, and his music merits a sampling of the kind offered here. Music for Tudor Kings & Queens is an up-to-the-moment release in several ways beyond marking the Fayrfax anniversary. It is the debut recording of the young Ensemble Pro Victoria, which holds to the fashion for one- or two-voices-per-part performance. There are secular songs, mostly done with solo voices, and longer sacred pieces with a slightly larger group, but in general, Ensemble Pro Victoria is light-years away from the cathedral choirs that have traditionally performed the music of the early English Renaissance. The singers emerge from the textures with some gutsy vibrato at times. Listeners can decide about the sound, although an objection is that the sacred and secular pieces seem to...
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