Henry VIII: If Love Now Reigned (His Music - His Love Letters to Ann Boleyn) - Isaak Ensemble Heidelberg / Theo Stemmler

Henry VIII - King of England (Artist), Michael Valentin (Artist), Theo Stemmler (Artist), Isaak Ensemble Heidelberg (Artist)

Product Details

• Audio CD (December 15, 1992)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Bayer
• ASIN: B00000445F
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #238,025 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Cultured Henry, December 17, 2004

By	Irene Rheinwald (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Henry VIII, unfortunately, is often perceived as a bloated, irascible boor, with the table manners of starved dog. Overlooked is the athletic and refined young Henry, the idealistic romantic. These songs pay tribute to king as courtier, composer and musician, ranging from instrumentals to sighing expressions of courtly love. Of particular note are the Boleyn love letters, which curiously ended up in the Vatican. Unfortunately, none of the Queen's letters to her husband survive (the authenticity of the 'Tower' letter is in doubt).

Rather than performing "Chapel Royal" music, this CD focusses on Henry's own works, which show surprising talent. He sang countertenor (odd for such an imposing figure), and played flute, viol, virginal, and lute; no wonder he found Anne Boleyn, herself an accomplished musician and composer, a perfect counterpart. Some selections are Henry's adaptations of contemporary works, but most are original: one can imagine the couple performing and laughing together on intimate evenings.

The love letters are fascinating. As in the vocals, pronunciation approximates sixteenth century English. Notwithstanding the German accent, I still noticed some small flaws: the 'r's are not fully rolled on the tongue, nor are vowels consistently emphasized (early modern English was more phonetic than modern). I also noted unusual French pronunciations, although I suspect the differences were more obvious than is apparent here. Small quibble -- at least it's not modern!

This is a fascinating CD, both in terms of listening pleasure and historical interest.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If love now reigned, as it hath been..., April 17, 2001

By	Robert (Syracuse, New York) - See all my reviews

This is a very good selection of the music of the Tudor king, Henry VIII. The Isaak Ensemble, a German group that specializes in music of the Renaissance, has done a fabulous job of bringing the music of King Henry VIII to light. Renaissance music has a sound that is all its own, much unlike Baroque or Classical music, and deserves to be heard. This CD also contains the love letters of Henry VIII to his wife, Anne Boleyn, spoken aloud in the original Renaissance English or French. The speaker has a heavy German accent that may or may not distract, but in the end it does not matter as the material matters more then the speaking style.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, December 20, 2004

By	Bilbo Baggins "A fixed point in a changing world" (Red Sox Nation) - See all my reviews

If you love Tudor court music, this is THE CD. I bought mine 13 years ago. A friend heard it and liked it, so I thought I'd see if it was still in print. It will make a sweet gift.