Byrd was an immensely versatile and masterful composer, unequaled in England and some would argue abroad. Quite the musical Shakespeare of Elizabethan England. The Anthem “Alack, when I look back” is an example of his mastery and, in my mind, subtlety of expression. This subtle dissonance on the word “youth” in the first verse is a good example; it’s as painful as the memory of lost time can be. “Upon my youth that’s passed” is followed by a weak, fleeting cadence, which se

I want to talk about the In Nomine, provide examples of them, then show you my own example. The In Nomine is an English form of instrumental music, for viols, that originated as a response to a certain section in a John Taverner (1490-1545) mass. So, right off the bat, John Taverner is the winner here: he made something that hit such a vein—perhaps even a vein that tapped into natural English proclivities—that it became a popular form throughout the late 16th and most of the

Steel your nerves, have a glass of water handy. I guarantee that at the end of this video, you will physically want to vomit. But that’s not what I’m posting about. I just want to look at this idiotic song and point one thing out: The WORD SETTING IS EMBARRASSINGLY BAD. “EN-e-MIEEEEEES OF free-DOMMMMMM” “coward–ICCCCCCCCCCE” “the red, white, AND blue!” “freedom AND, liberTY” The harmonic schema is a procession of I-V-I-V-I’s, cadencing with a downward chromatic approach to th

Another key to understanding French music: the development of the ornate system of ornamentation associated with their Baroque music arose, as I’m learning, from Airs de Cour composers. An Air de Cour is a song, usually in AA BB form, with an extremely limited melodic scope and chordal accompaniment (on lute). The diversity of the ornamentation, and the musical taste and techni cal proficiency needed to execute it well, added scope to these melodies. Eventually Renaissance wo

Isn’t it exciting how we don’t know about music until suddenly we do, and then we’re changed? I had no idea of the immensity or uniqueness of the French organ tradition: that is until I started listening to Titelouze, De Grigny, Marchand, and Couperin. Now I see that it’s a whole thing that still exists today, (Messiaen was an important modern figure). It is a single body of work, with a consistent body of stylistic factors. The Organ Mass was a French thing. The organ, using