BY CUTCOMMON
Aside from their beautiful choral compositions, composers William Byrd and Thomas Weelkes had one thing in common (and stick with us — it’s a little morbid): they both died in the year 1623.
This makes 2023 a pretty extraordinary anniversary — exactly four centuries since they passed away and left behind repertoire that continues to shape the lives of those who listen to, and perform, choral music.
John O’Donnell is one such artist who has been caught in the spell of these historic works, and in September he will direct the Melbourne Recital Centre event Ensemble Gombert — Commemorating Byrd & Weelkes. The choral conductor and musicologist founded this Melbourne chamber ensemble in 1990, and the group has since become regular at the venue, performing in the Local Heroes series and presenting world premieres of Australian music alongside their High Renaissance favourites.
In this interview, John gives a crash course on the music of these two English composers so you can be armed with knowledge and appreciation before this a cappella performance.
Hi John, thank you for chatting with CutCommon about Byrd & Weelkes! Your listing describes the event as a tribute to “two of the finest composers of the Renaissance”. Why do you think Byrd and Weelkes are next-level magnificent?
A pleasure to offer a few thoughts!
While Byrd and Weelkes clearly belong to the musical culture of their time, and while both write with impressive technical assurance, each developed a musical language that is individual and quite recognisable.
There are many purely musical aspects to their respective languages that make them individual. But it is possibly in the setting of words, above all else, that they achieve their individuality.
Though they lived and composed in the same place and time, what are some of these unique characteristics we may find in Byrd and Weelkes’ music?
Though Byrd and Weelkes died in the same year, they were born some 36 years apart, so they belong to different generations. With an additional three-and-a-half decades of life, it is hardly surprising that Byrd was the more prolific composer.
But Byrd also remained Catholic throughout his life — though he also composed liturgical music in English — while all of Weelkes’ sacred music is intended for the Church of England.
Byrd’s musical language grew out of the High Renaissance: we can see and hear a direct connection with the complex polyphony of Josquin, Gombert, and Clemens non Papa.
While Weelkes also builds on this tradition, he is also strongly influenced by the Italian madrigalists of second half of the 16th Century — composers such as Cipriano de Rore, Giaches de Wert, and Luca Marenzio. Of course, two of the three ‘Italian’ madrigalists I’ve just mentioned were Franco-Flemish in origin, but they were active in Italy, and their madrigals are settings of Italian verse.
Your event commemorates an unusual anniversary: 1623, the year of death for both of these composers. How did Ensemble Gombert select the works that would be most fitting for the occasion?
I decided at the outset that since we had recently performed a program of Latin liturgical music by Tallis and Byrd at the Melbourne Recital Centre, we would consider only Byrd’s English liturgical music for this one.
Weelkes set only English texts, except for the words Gloria in excelsis Deo, a Latin refrain around an English text. To achieve variety, I decided to include a couple of larger works — the two canticles (Te Deum and Magnificat) to include a few pieces that will be well-known to many (Byrd’s Sing joyfully, and Weelkes’ Hosanna to the Son of David and Gloria in excelsis Deo), and to include a couple of laments (Weelkes’ When David heard and O Jonathan, woe is me) among works that are otherwise festive. These two laments, by the way, were probably never intended to be sung liturgically: they number among 30 or so compositions written by various composers upon the death of Britain’s crown prince Henry on 6 November 1612.
Choral works such as these never fail to maintain their popularity; the success of Ensemble Gombert speaks to that! What do you feel gives this beautiful and ethereal music its longevity?
Unless lost or destroyed, great art never dies. It can go in and out of fashion. And, sadly, there are many who simply don’t have the time or inclination to consider it. But the work lives on because of its intrinsic qualities.
How would you say Byrd and Weelkes influenced the choral music that would follow over the centuries?
We have to acknowledge that this music was largely eclipsed throughout the second half of the 17th Century and the whole of the 18th and 19th centuries.
The rediscovery of music of the Tudor and Stuart eras that occurred early in the 20th Century resulted in a flowering of choral music from the pens of Vaughan Williams and Holst, among others. I recall reading somewhere that Holst named Weelkes as his personal favourite among the composers of this era.
Of the works that were inspired by the language of Elizabethan and Jacobean music — and I don’t think I can identify any single work on our program that was individually influential — my personal favourite is Vaughan Williams’ Mass in G minor, composed in 1921.
What’s a highlight on your program that you’re most looking forward to?
The Te Deum from Byrd’s Great Service. I always enjoy a new challenge, and this is the only work on the program that I have not previously conducted.
I expect that this program, a celebration of both words and music, will appeal to a wide range of lovers of the arts.
Experience Ensemble Gombert — Commemorating Byrd & Weelkes at 7.30pm September 20 in Melbourne Recital Centre.
Below: Watch Ensemble Gombert perform in the Melbourne Recital Centre’s Local Heroes series.
Image supplied.
