Lanier: No more shall meads be deck’d with flowers

Born in the final years of the reign of Elizabeth 1, Henry Lawes (1602-1645) belonged to the generation which succeeded the great composers of the English Renaissance and sought to impart a new Italian-inspired musical style.

In the troubled times of 17th century England Lawes was, in his lifetime, acknowledged as one of the finest composers for the voice. With extended vocal ranges, expressive melodic formulas, vibrant dissonances and the high poetic quality of his texts, Lawes is a subtle painter of the melancholy of his age, situated between John Dowland and Henry Purcell.

The first recording on Brilliant Classics of the splendid Early Music ensemble Le Tendre Amour.The ensemble present a beautiful bouquet of English Lute Songs, divided in 4 groups centred around the four seasons Spring, Summer,Autumn,Winter. Composers are famous names like Purcell, Byrd, Croft, Lawes, Morley and Eccles, and lesser known like Lanier, de Gallot, Finger. The Booklet contains all song texts and excellent liner notes. A pure delight for all seasons!

A delightful collection of English songs from the 17th century, constructed around the major influence of the four seasons, and showcasing the great enthusiasm for music, particularly amateur music making, that took place during this era. During the Commonwealth of England (c.1640–1660), music disappeared almost entirely from religious and court occasions. The use of instruments and music in churches was banned, and organs were destroyed by order of the regime – so the public turned to village and tavern musicians, country dances and new musical clubs for music making. Coinciding with the decline of the Elizabethan madrigal, folk music and settings of the famous poets of the day were popular; similarly, keyboard variations on dance tunes and romantic songs for voice and lute were all the rage, and this continued into the years of the Restoration under Charles II.

The monarch’s influence can be detected in the French style of some of the later works, featuring oboe and large groups of strings. This outpouring of inspired music is captured perfectly in this new collection, performed with insight and sensitivity by Ensemble Le Tendre Amour. Composers featured include Purcell, Playford, Morley, Croft, Lawes, Byrd, Eccles, Ravenscroft and, of course, many anonymous works. From bucolic country music to sophisticated pieces for a gentrified city audience, the music provides a vivid soundtrack to life in the turbulent world of 17th century England.

Beautiful miniatures full of English melancholy.

Purcell’s famous ‘Music for a while’ crowns a century of extraordinary song writing.

Wonderful togetherness of Johannette Zomer and Fred Jacobs.

Johannette Zomer and Fred Jacobs started recording a series of programmes devoted to 17th Century monody for which their research has unveiled many hidden treasures. This recording brings beautiful miniatures, full of English melancholy and humor, including Purcells’s famous ‘Music for a while’. Their previous recordings in this series - ‘Splendore di Roma’, ‘Nuove Musiche’ and ‘l’Esprit Galant’- received great international acclaim.

Compiled to complement the exhibition Orazio Gentileschi at the Court of Charles I held in London, Bilbao and Madrid in 1999 this collection is a broad introduction to the musical splendour and ambition of Charles I's court. It includes the work of Nicholas Lanier, the First Master of the King's Musick, who was reputed to be the lover of Artemisia Gentileschi, the daughter of the painter Orazio Gentileschi who was the Court Painter; William Lawes, the greatest English composer of the 17th century, who died valiantly in the Royalist cause at the siege of Chester; and contemporary settings of the poetry of John Donne by Corkine, Hilton and Sumarte.