Tye: Christ Rising Again from the Dead

‘The Glory of New College’ is a delightful collection compiled from the extensive catalogue of superb recordings on the CRD label. New College are acknowledged to be one of the best choirs in the world and they are directed here by Edward Higginbottom. Spanning the centuries, the set contains works by Taverner (Mater Christi), Byrd (Gloria), Tallis (Dum Transisset), Purcell (Rejoice in the Lord Alway), Boyce (By the Waters of Babylon), Stanford (The Lord is my shepherd), Faure (Sanctus & Pie Jesu) and many more.

Over two hours of music to soothe the soul.

Christopher Tye was a chorister at King’s College, Cambridge, and subsequently gained a doctorate in music at the University. He wrote most of his music whilst Organist and Master of the Choristers at Ely Cathedral. Although much of his music has been lost, his extant compositions reveal a master rivalling his contemporaries, Tallis and Taverner. Another “benchmark recording” from The Choir of New College Oxford, conducted by Edward Higginbottom.

Christopher Tye flourished as a church musician in England during the mid-sixteenth century. A direct contemporary of Thomas Tallis, he held the prestigious post of Master of Choristers at Ely cathedral and successfully managed to compose music for both Protestant and Catholic services during a politically unstable time. Henry VIII was a fan, asserting: ‘England one god, one truth, one doctor hath for music’s art—and that is Dr Tye’ (Tye himself had Protestant leanings).

The composer was also described as ‘peevish and humoursome’, and these qualities are reflected in his remarkably individual music, characterized by unpredictable cadences and phrases of often unexpectedly startling beauty. The two major works on this recording are his masterful Missa Euge bone for six voices, and his Western Wynde Mass, probably an early work, and likely written as a complement to John Taverner’s own Mass based on this secular English song.

The peerless Westminster Abbey Choir directed by James O’Donnell performs these sparsely beautiful a cappella works with customary freshness and sense of grandeur.

Christopher Tye (1505-1572) was an important figure in the English renaissance. His career was based around the centres of Cambridge and Ely and spanned the English Reformation. He wrote both in Latin and its vernacular successor. Few albums of Tye’s music are available and the superb Cambridge University Chamber Choir, formed from elite singers taken from various colleges, gives a perfect introduction to Tye’s output. The choir is conducted by the world-renowned choral director, Timothy Brown.