Music of Tudor and Jacobean England [Box set]

Peter Watchorn; hapsichord (Artist), Anonymous; English Anonymous; John Bull; William Byrd; Orlando Gibbons; John Munday; Peter Philips; William Randall; Howard Schott; Tisdale's Virginal Book; William Tisdale (Composer), none (Conductor), Peter Watchorn (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Peter Watchorn
• Conductor: none
• Composer: Anonymous; English Anonymous; John Bull; William Byrd; Orlando Gibbons; John Munday; Peter Philips; William Randall; Howard Schott; Tisdale's Virginal Book; William Tisdale
• Audio CD (August 15, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 3
• Format: Box set
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: Musica Omnia
• ASIN: B00005NHJY
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #156,456 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Review

American Record Guide review of mo0104: Keyboard Music of Tudor and Jacobean England Music of Tudor & Jacobean England Works by Byrd, Randall, Bull, Phillips, Gibbons, Munday, Tisdale, Anonymous Peter Watchorn (harpsichord) Musica Omnia mo0104 (distr. www.musicaomnia.com) 117 mins (2 disc. plus documentary disc) Disc I is identical to the collection called Chi Passa released on Orbis (Jan/Feb 1998); Disc 2 includes works by Gibbons (Pavans in G minor and A minor and 'The Italian Ground'), Bull ('Dr Bull's My Selfe' and 'Vaulting Galliard'), Byrd ('Lord Willobies Welcome Home', a Pavan and Galliard in D minor, and the Tenth Pavan and Galliard from My Lady Nevell¹s Book), John Munday ('Robin'), Tisdale ('Mrs Katherin Tregian's Paven'), and finally an anonymous Pavan. (I'm grateful to Watchorn for including where each of the pieces can be found in published editions.) Disc 3 is a 20- minute talk on virginal music by the eminent scholar Howard Schott punctuated here and there by musical excerpts-included as a complementary bonus. Schott's talk is engaging and entertaining and I'm glad to have it: in the future I'll actually begin by listening to the lecture before I listen to any of the music. Watchorn plays two different instruments by Walter and Berta Burr: a single-manual Ruckers 1640 harpsichord for the first disc and a 1642 doublemanual Ruckers on the second-the first has plectra of crow quill. Both instruments are lovely. The miking on the harpsichord is farther back on the first disc; while I prefer the closer, more intimate sound on the second, the engineering and production on both discs capture harpsichord sound better than almost any other recording I've heard recently. The performances from Disc I hold up quite well after three years - the inexorable buildup Watchorn achieves in Bull's 12th 'In Nomine', for example, is as fresh and powerful as ever. On the second disc I'm impressed by Watchorn's expressive range. Bull's hilarious 'Vaulting Galliard' shows W --American Record Guide

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful set of early harpsichord pieces., September 20, 2007

By 

Tom Furgas (Youngstown, OH United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Music of Tudor and Jacobean England (Audio CD)

This is a really beautiful set of pieces by early English composers of harpsichord music (then called the "virginals"). All the greats are here; Bull, Byrd, Gibbons, and others. The two discs are chock full of wonderful gems, many from the great Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, and other sources as well. The two Burr harpsichords (a single-manual on Disc One, a double-manual on Disc Two) are excellent modern instruments copied from Ruckers instruments, and they sound very much like classic Ruckers harpsichords (but without the inevitable signs of aging that the originals are sometimes prone to.) The recording is top-notch too; and the price makes this a great bargain as well. The third disc is an absorbing lecture-demonstration about the music on the first 2 discs, and it is recommended that the listener play that disc first before embarking on the pieces heard on the first 2 discs. What are you waiting for? Buy it!

5.0 out of 5 stars Fine Harpsichording, September 16, 2011

By 

Unmesh (NYC) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Music of Tudor and Jacobean England (Audio CD)

I purchased these recordings because I'm a big fan of music of the late Renaissance and early Baroque, and I was unfamiliar with the record label, Musica Omnia. I found the selection of pieces and the playing to be first rate; I really enjoyed these recordings. The only quibble I would mention is that I found the acoustic of the recording venue to be a little lively. My initial impression was that I was seated 20 or 25 feet away from the player, rather than a more intimate 8 to 10 feet, but by the time we were into the second piece this concern over obscured detail was completely forgotten. I fully intend to get more of Peter Watchorn's recordings on this label. FYI my set consisted of 2 discs only
which is fine by me as I probably would not listen to the lecture disc anyway.