Madrigal Book (1985)
Choral suite for SATB (with divisions), unaccompanied. Duration 14 minutes.
These virtuosic settings of sixteenth-century texts for unaccompanied choir were first performed by the William Byrd Singers of Manchester and then broadcast on BBC Radio 3 by the BBC Northern Singers, director Stephen Wilkinson.
The four movements are
1. The lowest trees have tops (Sir Edward Dyer)
2. Hot sun, cool fire (George Peele)
3. Fire, fire! (Thomas Campion)
4. Come, heavy sleep (Anon.)
The first poem sings of the richness, but sometimes the incompatibility, of love, and the second is the mysterious song of Bathsheba, mother of Solomon and alleged seductress of David. The third song portrays the scorching pain of love, which all the oceans of the world cannot quench, and finally the heart-broken lover takes refuge in sleep, ‘the image of true death’
CE27 Madrigal Book inspection copy
Printed copies are available to order from Colne Edition in the UK (minimum 10 copies, £4.95 per copy plus postage, delivery approximately two weeks).
Digital downloads / pdfs are available instantly, worldwide, from Sheet Music Plus or Sheet Music Direct , minimum order 10 copies. (Prices are cheaper than print, but they vary, so do check both sites)
Performance with scrolling score on YouTube