Byrd: Music for Voice & Viols

William Byrd (Composer), In Nomine Players (Orchestra), Russell Oberlin (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Russell Oberlin
• Orchestra: In Nomine Players
• Composer: William Byrd
• Audio CD (April 18, 1995)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Lyrichord
• ASIN: B0000022B8
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #254,799 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Work(s): Prélude & Fantasia à 5 [XVII, 38]

2. La verginella (also: 'The fair young virgin'), consort song for voice & 4 viols

3. My sweet little darling, consort song for voices & 4 viols (doubtful)

4. Work(s): Fantasia à 3 [XVII, 6]

5. What pleasure have great princes?, madrigal for 5 voices (SATBB)

6. Though Amaryllis dance in green, madrigal for 5 voices (SSATB)

7. Work(s): In Nomine à 5 [XVII, 58]

8. Blessed is he that fears the Lord, sacred song for voice & viols

9. O Lord, how long wilt thou forget?, anthem for 5 voices

10. Work(s): Fantasia à 6 [XVII, 81]

11. The man is blest, sacred song for voice & 4 viols

12. Why do I use my paper, ink and pen?, consort song for voice & 4 viols

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely wonderful, truly Oberlin's "home court" in music, April 30, 2009

By 

Janis Cortese (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Byrd: Music for Voice & Viols (Audio CD)

As a fan of the high male voice, I'm already predisposed to love Oberlin's brushed-gold colored natural alto chest voice, a countertenor with all the power of a tenor. But as much as I love his Handel collection, I have to admit, he shines much more in the earlier English pieces such as those in this collection. The uncertain and quaintly American vowels that prick the ear in the Italian works are nowhere to be found here, leaving only the shimmer and exquisite precision of his voice. There is also a much more genuine sense of feeling than in the overly polite Baroque works that have aged less well compared to the more meat-and-potatoes style of today's Baroque revival.

If you're a fan of voice or the high male voice in particular, you truly owe it to yourself to discover what may be the 20th century's best-kept secret, the forgotten legend of the American countertenor with the clarity and power of a chest voice and all the resonance and depth of a healthy male tenor: Russell Oberlin. Classical fans owe it to themselves to hear these pieces sung in their proper key at last, and pop/rock fans owe it to themselves to discover what can be done by classically trained male voices singing in a range that only they have been familiar with for so long.