--William Cornysh--
William Cornysh, born in 1465, was one of the leading composers of his time, living at a time of the beginning of the great flowering of liturgical music. He is well represented in the Eton Choirbook, a major manuscript of music of the time. He was a renaissance man, known as a musician, poet, actor and playwright, though only a handful of vocal works survive from his varied output. Cornysh was appointed as master of the Royal Chapel by Henry VIII, and was the leader of the famous ceremonies at the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520. His music is typical of the period's florid style in some regards, but also began to tend toward the simple patterns soon dominant - Cornysh was part of two worlds, musically.. While scholars know of his work, most of it seems not to have survived - only one poem, and a handful of secular and sacred songs, remain. He died in 1523. There is a little held but still interesting theory that there were two men named William Cornysh of note in the early Tudor period.
--Musical Works--
This disc has nine pieces by Cornysh, some sacred and some secular. The secular pieces are very much in the style of medieval carols, songs of joy with a repeating refrain (often called a 'burden' in this period). Ah, Robin and Woefully arrayed are such; Adieu, courage and Adieu, my heartes lust are but fragments. The Stabat Mater is also a fragment, being completed here by Frank Harrison, who wrote several missing sections of the music to complete it in Cornysh style. The other songs here survive from the Eton Choirbook, save the Magnificat, which comes from the Caius Choirbook.
--Liner Notes--
Being internationally acclaimed, the Tallis Scholars' CDs typically present their commentary and texts in English, French, German and Italian (together with any Latin texts); that is true of this disc. The cover art also typically represents visual arts contemporary with the compositions - here it is a piece from the National Portrait Gallery, a painting of Henry VII by Michiel Sittow.
--The Tallis Scholars--
The Tallis Scholars, a favourite group of mine since the first time I heard them decades ago, are a group dedicated to the performance and preservation of the best of this type of music. A choral group of exceptional ability, I have been privileged to see them many times in public, and at almost every performance, their singing seems almost like a spiritual epiphany for me, one that defies explanation in words. Directed by Peter Phillips, the group consists of a small number of male and female singers who have trained themselves well to their task.
Their recordings are of a consistent quality that deserve more than five stars; this particular disc of pieces by Cornysh deserves a place on the shelf of anyone who loves early music, choral music, liturgical music or Gregorian chant, classical music generally, or religious music. It is breathtaking. The music on this disc was originally recorded in 1988 at the Church of Sts. Peter and Paul, Norfolk.
