CE Church of St Bartholomew the Great, London Wed, 17th Feb 2016

[ardcarp]

Are you sure? I'm no organist, but I'm told by those who are that reductions of viol parts don't always 'lie under the hands' particularly well.

I probably didn't express the idea well, but in the verse anthems and canticles the compositional technique (that of very linear imitative part-writing) is 'instrument blind', and was probably not conceived with anything particular in mind. OTOH the viol fantasias of Byrd, Gibbons, Lawes, Jenkins et al are very much FOR the instrument. Likewise the keyboard works of Byrd (I'm looking at My Ladye Nevells Booke right now) Bull and Gibbons are full of chords, flourishes and the like, very specific to the harpsichord or organ.

[Miles Coverdale]

I'm not sure that's the case. If you look at a piece where both viol and organ parts survive (I'm looking at a copy of Amner's O ye little flock), you'll see that the writing is entirely idiomatic is each case, but the parts are very different. In this particular piece, the musical content is also quite different in places, to the extent that one might say that there are actually two versions: a verse anthem with organ accompaniment, for performance in church, and a consort anthem with viols for private, recreational performance.

As I say, it's a nice idea, and the effect is very attractive, but I'm not sure the evidence is there to support the idea that the practice was commonplace.

[ardcarp]

Must find Amner's O Ye Little Flock! Was he an Ely-based musician? I was thinking of something along the lines of Byrd's Lullaby which works equally well with all parts sung or as (probably originally intended...sorry no scholarship to hand) a treble song with viols playing the parts. Fabulous piece, whatever.

[jean]

The Byrd could never have been intended for liturgical use, though.

[Roger Judd]

You are absolutely right, Master Coverdale. Playing the viol parts on the organ is never straightforward. On an organ with a pedalboard one can at least help oneself by coupling a keyboard to the pedals and playing the 'difficult' notes that way. However, many cathedrals / colleges have box organs now, which are used specifically to accompany such music. Having no pedalboard, stretches for the hands become impossible, and it becomes necessary to re-write the parts slightly to get over the problems.

Indeed, John Amner was organist at Ely (1610–41), and 'O ye little flock' is a masterpiece IMO. My predecessor as assistant at the cathedral, Anthony Greening, was responsible for transcribing and editing his music for modern editions. There is a rather lovely anthem for Good Friday, 'Consider, all ye passers by' also scored for viols.
RJ

[ardcarp]

The Byrd could never have been intended for liturgical use, though.

Indeed not, Jean. I was going off piste, as ever.

stretches for the hands become impossible

I guess you've seen this, Roger......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkNBWeWzha4

[Vox Humana]

There is a rather lovely anthem for Good Friday, 'Consider, all ye passers by' also scored for viols.

Absolutely. I have never understood why this super piece is so little known.

[ardcarp]

Absolutely. I have never understood why this super piece is so little known.

Here:

http://saturdaychorale.com/2012/04/06/john-amner-1579-1641-consider-all-ye-passers-by/

Beautiful and very moving....and illustrating perfectly how voices and viols combine to tug at the heart-strings.

[DracoM]

Fine stuff. And, yes, why so rarely heard?

[Roger Judd]

Thanks for that link to the Amner recording, Ardcarp - absolutely beautiful. Recorded in Ely Cathedral by the resident choir (1994), and 'O ye little flock' is there too; the latter is also on a fine Stile Antico CD with Fretwork.

One possible reason for the Good Friday piece to be less well-known could be that, in Holy Week, accompanying instruments are traditionally silent - just a thought.

On the subject of the broadcast, I greatly enjoyed the rather intimate feeling the use of viols seemed to engender. The Gibbon's introit set the standard for the whole with some fine solo singing, and hearing Morley's First Service with strings was a treat, as was the lovely John Ward anthem.
Someone will correct me no doubt, but I think the absence of a larger organ in the mix may have something to do with St Bartholomew's acquiring a new instrument from the USA.
RJ

[ardcarp]

Recorded in Ely Cathedral by the resident choir (1994)

I've ordered the CD. It sounds as if the recording were done in the Chapter House, famed for its acoustics. (In the past I've sung both there and in the stalls, and the Chapter House had a very kindly resonance.)

[Roger Judd]

Small correction - the CD was recorded in the Lady Chapel, which is one of the many glories of that wonderful Cathedral. The acoustic in there is indeed totally sensational.
RJ

[Daniel]

Here:

http://saturdaychorale.com/2012/04/06/john-amner-1579-1641-consider-all-ye-passers-by/

Beautiful and very moving....and illustrating perfectly how voices and viols combine to tug at the heart-strings.

Lovely, and as you say very affecting. Thanks for posting.

[Finzi4ever]

Thanks for that link to the Amner recording, Ardcarp - absolutely beautiful. Recorded in Ely Cathedral by the resident choir (1994), and 'O ye little flock' is there too; the latter is also on a fine Stile Antico CD with Fretwork.

One possible reason for the Good Friday piece to be less well-known could be that, in Holy Week, accompanying instruments are traditionally silent - just a thought.

On the subject of the broadcast, I greatly enjoyed the rather intimate feeling the use of viols seemed to engender. The Gibbon's introit set the standard for the whole with some fine solo singing, and hearing Morley's First Service with strings was a treat, as was the lovely John Ward anthem.
Someone will correct me no doubt, but I think the absence of a larger organ in the mix may have something to do with St Bartholomew's acquiring a new instrument from the USA.
RJ

What a very special experience this CE was! May I also thank ardcap for the Amner link - it certainly brought back many Ely memories.
On the St Barts organ, it's all gone a bit quiet on the new Schoenstein 'American Symphonic' organ which they'd first hoped to get in during 2014. If anyone knows anything perhaps they'd like to start a thread on the Organ board.

[light_calibre_baritone]

I see Portsmouth Cathedral Choir have Amner's 'Consider all, ye passers by' down for evensong this Friday 26. Pompey's DoM, David Price, played the organ for the Hyperion CD of Amner's music by Ely Cathedral Choir... Which I think has already been mentioned.