Composer: William Byrd, William Cornysh, John Dunstaple, Walter Lambe, Andrew Smith, Thomas Tallis, John Taverner, Christopher Tye
Performer: New York Polyphony
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Avie
Catalogue: AV2186
Release: 2010
Size: 271 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
01. Byrd: Ave verum Corpus
02. Cornysh the elder: Gaude Virgo Mater Christi
03. Smith: Flos regalis
04. anon.: Flos regalis
Tallis: Nine Tunes from Archbishop Parker’s Psalter
05. Fourth Tune: O Come In One To Praise The Lord
06. Sixth Tune: Expend, O Lord, My Plaint of Word
07. Smith: Surrexit Christus
08. Lambe: Stella Caeli
09. Dunstaple: Speciosa facta es
10. Tallis: Audivi vocem de caelo
11. Tallis: Nine Tunes from Archbishop Parker’s Psalter: Third Tune: Why Fum’th In Fight
12. Smith: To mock your reign
Tallis: Nine Tunes from Archbishop Parker’s Psalter
13. First Tune: Man Blest No Doubt
14. Eighth Tune: God Grant With Grace
15. Taverner: Magnificat a 4
16. Smith: Magnificat à 4
17. Tye: In Pace
New York Polyphony’s second release for Avie is a compelling fusion of Tudor masterpieces from Byrd, Tallis, Taverner and others and contemporary works by Oslo-based English composer Andrew Smith.
Classical vocal quartet New York Polyphony struck a chord with their 2007 Avie debut, ‘I Sing the Birth’ (AV2141). An intimate meditation on the Christmas season, it garnered unanimous praise on both sides of the pond. For Gramophone Magazine it was “one of the season’s best”, and it was an Editor’s Christmas Choice in BBC Music Magazine. For their second release, the all-male foursome delivers their signature fusion of historically informed performances in a range of styles. Interspersed between sacred masterpieces of Tudor England are four new works by British-Norwegian composer Andrew Smith, adding a modern harmonic richness and complexity to the album. The result is a compelling synthesis of ancient and contemporary vocal music. New York Polyphony extends the mix of old world and new in the album’s title, named for the distinctive 19th-century neighbourhood on Manhattan’s East Side which is pictured in the striking cover design.
Tudor City is an Avie Records CD by New York Polyphony, a male vocal quartet based out of the city that never sleeps. This disc was recorded in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, a New York City landmark making a comeback in the wake of a devastating fire in 2008 that altered it forever; New York Polyphony makes use of another New York landmark, the illuminated sign atop ex-hotel Tudor City, as a means of illustrating both concept and the front cover of this collection. Tudor City is, for the most part, made up of music that itself has been proven by fire; English service music written around the time of the Tudor Dynasty. It is high in quality and short in supply, as events within the English Reformation wreaked a heavy toll on the sources of such music; however, New York Polyphony presents a handsome selection, ranging from a piece taken from the so-called “Worcester Fragments” dating from the 14th century to music of William Byrd. Music of contemporary composer Andrew Smith is scattered at points throughout the program; it both coalesces and contrasts with the main selection, being similar in texture but considerably different in color and it is decidedly no less attractive than the other music on the program.
The Cathedral carries with it a very long decay, which works beautifully in some instances and is less than ideal in others; the long trail of the reverberation sometimes obscuring the carefully wrought polyphony sung by the group. But for most ears it will be fine and throughout this is a very beautifully sung and considered selection; anyone with a taste for unaccompanied vocal music should try it out