Secret Byrd  - 

Gesualdo Six - Concert Theatre Works

Blogcritics

The Abendmusik String Ensemble, here a six-person consort of viols, alternated with mostly a cappella singing by the five-person Cathedra Ensemble in music by Byrd, some of it expressly written for a Mass. The viols provided rich readings of Byrd's instrumental music, resounding, like the voices, magnificently in the long narrow (and dark) tunnel that runs the length of the damp catacombs.                     

                                                      - Jon Sobel, Blogcritics

Bill Barclay’s Immersive Meditation on William Byrd’s Legacy

Death of Classical presented Bill Barclay’s “Secret Byrd” at Green-Wood Cemetery’s Catacombs on June 9, 2023, featuring NY’s Abendmusik String Ensemble and Cathedra Ensemble. The concert celebrated the prolific Renaissance composer William Byrd.  The immersive performance, marking the 400th anniversary of the death of William Byrd (d.1623), invited audience members to experience early music as a shared way to overcome persecution and injustice in modern times.

Byrd was one of England’s most well-known early music composers. Grounded in sacred and traditional forms that allowed him to communicate messages of hope and transcendence during the Catholic Reformation in the 1500s, the composer’s three masses for small ensembles specifically signify an act of creative resistance against persecution. His music was made to be shared in intimate gatherings, such as homes and private ceremonies, which were forbidden during the Reformation. The theme of Barclay’s “Secret Byrd” revealed more about the challenges of overcoming afflictions surrounding personal beliefs during this time while remembering Byrd as the creative activist he was.

At the main door to Green-Wood Cemetery’s Catacombs, two scrolls informed the audience about religious persecution. Along with these was a note from Barclay about “What is belief?”

Byrd’s legacy and endeavors became the key to what unfolded within the space. Entering the Catacombs, a woman dressed in medieval costume greeted audience members, eager to welcome everyone to the gathering. All members of the Cathedra Ensemble wore such garb, and they invited their guests to partake actively in the surrounding atmosphere, which included a well-dressed table that stood at the center, filled with candles, medieval hors d’oeuvres, sheet music, and dried flowers. Some members of the audience stepped into the crypt chambers that were open for audience members to read scrolls full of information about Byrd and his life. One could partake in a quick “confession” or simply find a spot along the candlelit walls to relax and enjoy the already-playing early music string band.

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Meanwhile, a soft glow illuminated the delicate parts of the Catacombs, creating an air of magic and anticipation as the string ensemble played Fantasia in parts: No.1, No.2, and No.3; Fantasia No.3 in C major for 3-part Consort; and Fantasy a 5: Browning. Members of the ensemble included Patricia Ann Neely (treble viol), Roasamund Morley (treble viol), Lawrence Lipnik (tenor viol), Adam Young (tenor viol), Arnie Tanimoto (bass viol), and John Mark Rozendaal (bass viol).

Byrd’s fantasias set the tone. These musical compositions, rooted in improvisation, felt natural in the intimate space. Barclay’s decision to have the ensemble begin with these playful pieces made the environment feel very present. Had the works been heavier than fantasias at the start, the event would have felt more like a staged performance. Instead, it was a very thoughtful gathering to be shared, and the whole evening walked the fine line between immersive experience and staged performance the entire time. There was plenty of room to breathe and really sink into the space. There was much to enjoy by observing others interact with the center table’s Catholic mass setting, with the singers engaging in a private mass ceremony.

The Cathedra Ensemble’s voices were spectacular. Mass for 5 Voices: I. Kyrie & II. Gloria, Fantasia a 6, T 391, and III. Credo highlighted the string and vocal ensemble’s masterful precision and care in interpreting Byrd’s music. Together, they evoked a nostalgic calm from deep within. Glancing at audience members, many were seen holding one another. Their eyes were relaxed, and smiles graced their faces. Some were even swaying in time with the music. There was a purposeful connectivity that engaged listeners with the music and brought to the surface its ability to dissolve barriers universally. “Secret Byrd” invited listeners to share common ground in this way, and Byrd’s compositions were made for this exact purpose. This was a coming together to discover more about life as a community. Beyond the Catholic connotations and traditional forms, one felt alive and connected to the space while listening.

As the evening continued and the ensembles lulled listeners into a liminal space of anticipating ceremonies, there was a loud knock on the Catacomb’s metal door. We were all startled, and fear filled the room. Barclay turned towards the door, and another singer followed him. “I will go,” said Barclay as he exited and did not return for a while. The music slowly started up again. Pavan a 6, Galliard a 6, Infelix ego (a6), and “Haec Dies” concluded the night. All throughout the final pieces, listeners were left with their own thoughts and beliefs. This stark message lifted the magical veil, and we were back in the reality of our world today.

“I fervently believe that once we stop trying to convince people they’re wrong, we can move to the next stage of our evolution – working together to protect a world where we each get to choose our fate,” stated Barclay in the program notes.

The Gesualdo Six performed a program titled “Secret Byrd” Saturday night at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine.

The program titled “Secret Byrd,” performed by The Gesualdo Six with Abendmusik Saturday at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine was an extremely moving experience on many levels. These ranged from the spiritual to the aesthetic, but historical context also played a vital role as well. The mix proved to be a very popular draw, resulting in two sold-out performances on the same evening.

Conceived and directed by Bill Barclay, Music Before 1800’s artistic director, “Secret Byrd,”is a  reflection on the life and music of the great English Renaissance composer and his times, as well as a belated commemoration of the 400th anniversary of his death. Byrd’s birthdate is uncertain; not so that of his death. Byrd was well into his eighties when he died on July 4, 1623, with the date noted in the records of the Chapel Royal by an entry describing him as “a Father of Musick.”

That Byrd would live to such a great age was an impressive feat. Not only due to his span of years—the average life expectancy in Tudor England was just 35 years—but also to his midlife conversion to Roman Catholicism. The English Reformation was a bloody affair and for Catholics during the latter years of Queen Elizabeth I’s reign especially so. That Byrd successfully navigated such turbulent times was one inspiration for Barclay in creating this program, the glories of the composer’s music, undoubtedly being of even greater importance. 

In the great houses, Catholic services were held in secrecy with the participants ever fearful of the Queen’s spies and paid informers. Rather than the impressive forces of the Chapel Royal, the largest choir of its kind in England, Byrd composed his three Latin Masses to be performed by a small number of singers, usually household servants. His Mass for five voices, probably composed in 1584, formed the musical core of the evening.

The main focal point of the performance was a large table set for a meal with flowers adoring the table in the cathedral’s crossing. Five of the gentlemen choristers of The Gesualdo Six were dresses as Elizabethan courtiers, while the sixth was robed as a Catholic priest. Members of the audience were invited to sit at the table. Water and wine were on hand throughout. Towards the end of the performance, small pieces of bread were distributed invoking the religious rite for which Byrd’s Mass was intended.

This was not the standard concert experience. People were invited to move about in the candlelight to engage with the music and the drama. It was a meditative, almost trancelike experience. Jarring, explosive knocks at one of the cathedral’s great doors toward the end of the program were a rude interruption. They portended that this clandestine gathering had been discovered by the Queen’s spies. The priest was led to safety escorted by a man bearing candles and a crucifix. There were indeed concealed places within houses, called priest holes, to which priests could be secreted away.

Although the Mass for five voices was the centerpiece of the musical offerings, selections from Byrd’s instrumental composition and his sacred vocal works in Latin were also performed. “Ye Sacred Muses,” Byrd’s musical elegy on the death of his colleague and mentor, Thomas Tallis, was sung midway through the program.

The music was sublime. When originally sung in a room of a private home, undoubtedly every word of the Mass was heard clear and distinct. In the vastness of St. John the Divine that was impossible and likely never intended to be. To the extent that any real musical or textual details emerged was almost miraculous, and a testament to the musicality of the six singers. 

One striking example was the dynamic and mood changes that emerged in the Credo of the Mass, when they sang of Jesus Christ’s suffering and death in soft, somber tones. In an instant, there was jubilation in the air, as his resurrection was announced triumphantly. Equally remarkable was the sheer beauty of the men’s voice when singing in soft tones that took flight in the great space.

Abendmusik performed before and after the main body of the program. Many crowded up close to experience their music making and inspect their period string instruments, but the better vantage point was to distance oneself. The aura cast by their playing was mysterious and magical, as indeed was the entire experience of “Secret Byrd.”

                           - Sun, Nov 10, 2024 pm  By Rick Perdian

An “immersive stage mass” continues this year on an international tour with 22 new performances in 10 cities including Boston from October 31st through November 2nd. Early Halloween evening The Cathedral Church of St. Paul Boston opened its doors transformed into a clandestine venue for The Gesualdo Six and Abendmusik performing music of William Byrd in a setting created and directed by Bill Barclay, produced by Concert Theatre Works, and presented by Revels.

Prayer-borne mixed media hit home, casting hate and love, descent and ascent, voices and viols. We cry tears at such moments because it is all so meaningful.

Activism finds its way in this widely praised production, where being banned does not lead to campus rioting or traffic-blocking marches down Massachusetts Avenue. Instead, reacting to the upheavals of the Protestant Reformation, staunch Catholics like the composer met surreptitiously in homes where artifacts and priests were hidden. For “Secret Byrd,” churches and even a crypt have become homes and central to this celebration of the 400-year legacy of one of England’s preeminent composers, his Mass for Five Voices.

In the converted historic cathedral, gathered around a table, newly acclaimed British vocal consort directed by Owain Park, The Gesualdo Six induced altered states. Weaving in and out among the movements of the sung mass, a consort of viols, Abendmusik countered with dances and instrumentals, some secular relishes of the Renaissance. Bill Barclay’s era reenactment aimed at reality, having attendees as participants in 16th-century Catholic ritual. With the musicians costumed and participants provided soup and bread, tripping back was one thing, sensing timelessness another. 

Research of Professor Eamonn Bell, Department of Computer Science, Durham University, sharpens perception of Byrd’s polyphony: “The listening experience of Byrd’s fantasias for instrumental consort is the experience of a select handful of deftly crafted tunes being cast, turn after turn, in a bewildering and fascinating series of combinations and variations.” Much of the same can be said of Byrd’s other compositions with strict imitation yielding to a freer technique Bell terms “deformation.”

Deformation in activist subculture may not be coincidental, and for creator and director Bill Barclay “ ‘Secret Byrd’ is my prayer for the world.” Eiseman-Park interview [HERE]. The rhythm of sounds, sacred and secular, bewildering and fascinating, poured openly and comprehensively from The Gesualdo Six-Abendmusik collaboration. In candlelight, sitting, standing, and moving bodies—participants—surrounded a table, the focal point, where supplicants joined vocalists. Immersion already had begun on the steps outside the cathedral, first with welcoming greeters, then with orientation from The Gesualdo Six; even with pre-alerts required nowadays of such productions, once stepping inside, astonishment never lessened. 

Following the Mass for Five Voices were heart-wrenching and lighthearted moments. Byrd’s elegy, Ye Sacred Muses, a countertenor and viols “in mourning weeds with tears in eyes: Tallis is dead and music dies.” Byrd’s setting of Haec Dies, all voices and viols in strict imitation “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Alleluia.”

In the BMInt interview The Gesualdo Six’s director said of Revels, “I know that their mantra ‘bringing traditions to life’ perfectly fits ‘Secret Byrd’.” When John Langstaff came to Shady Hill School in Cambridge, I was his accompanist. All these years later, I am reminded of the Revels founder’s considerable care in reawakening other places and times through music, dance, and storytelling.

Since no written program was available, the curious may want to know what pieces were also included in the production. Instrumentals: three Fantasias in a 3, Fantasy a 5: “Browning” In Nomine a 5 (VdGS no. 2), Fantasia a 6 Nos. 2 and 3, Pavan & Galliard a 6. Vocals: Memento, homo, Agnus Dei from Mass for 4 Voices. Tutti: Infelix ego.

                                                       - by David Patterson

Whyte Noyse - The Complete Consorts of William Whyte (1571-1634) - MSR Classics -

 Abendmusik’s musicianship proves equally high. From the robust, six-part Pavan that begins the album, to the wistful Fantasia that marks its conclusion, the balance between voices proves excellent, the articulation crisp, and the musical shaping impeccable. If the term “consort” can be understood not merely as a prescribed instrumentation, but rather as an ideal for immaculately-blended sound, then these players are indeed a true consort.

Although consort music generally prizes sensitivity and musicianship over virtuosity, Whyte still offers plenty of moments to show off—and Abendmusik’s musicians deliver. While he can write tightly-knit polyphony as well as anyone, Whyte has a tendency to veer off into intimate, lengthy, and highly-exposed paired duets. This constant shift of voicing generates an alluring variety of musical textures and moods, all skillfully elucidated in this recording. - Jacob Jahiel for Early Music America 

Available on Apple Music, Spotify, and other media platforms and in CD format on Amazon, or MSR Records

Many of White’s consort pieces are notable for the lively animation of their themes. In the early 17th Century, instruments of the violin family were becoming popular, and combinations of violins with viols were not unusual... On this recording the upper parts are played on violins with the inner and lower parts played on tenor and bass viols. The result is highly effective in energetic and polished performances notable for their incisive string tone and rhythm... Abendmusik is based in New York. They take their name from the series of free concerts established by Franz Tunder at Lübeck in 1646 and continued under Buxtehude. They are particularly noted for their presentation of little-known repertory.

Gatens, American Record Guide [November/December 2023]

The musicians’ restful but still lively performance brings to us the feelings and emotions of life about 400 years ago that were ably captured by Whyte in his fantasias and pavanes. - Joel C. Thompson, Cherry Grove Music Review [February 2024]

The Abendmusik consort does a fine job with these... They merge well together in their ensemble, and as noted the pair of violins provides an interesting musical flavor to the group, making the music stand out more than a normal consort of viols might. Given that these works all tend to be similar in terms of tone and structure, this manner of performance, nicely fluid and in tune, provides just the right atmosphere... For Jacobean music at court, this is a nice example of the sort of subtle and minutely defined style that was in vogue at the time. - Bertil van Boer, Fanfare [January/February 2024]

The darkly serious Fantasia a 2, No. 2 makes an interesting contrast to the works for a larger grouping, and the comparatively extended Fantasia a 6, No. 6 – which, at five minutes, is the longest work on the disc – provides opportunities for especially intricate interweaving of the instruments... [This CD] serves as an interesting immersion in a world of string playing and string sound that is quite different from those with which most listeners are likely to be familiar. - Mark J. Estren, InfoDad [August 2023]