Byrd-De Monte : The Word Unspoken / Ensemble GalliCantus

Choir & Organ (Sep, 2012)
I’ll kick off a sequence of three very different takes on the contextualisation of William Byrd, all with varying degrees of originality, with another male consort, arguably the most exciting of the recent crop. Gallicantus explores Byrd’s fascinating ‘personal musical exchange’ with Philippe de Monte in The Word Unspoken. Six Byrd motets sit alongside five by the Italian who, like Richafort, deserves to step out from under the shadow cast by giant contemporaries. The singing is beyond exemplary: deeply felt, tenderly phrased, perfectly balanced, with the most profound understanding, seemingly bred in the bone.

Reconstructions are the speciality of Musica Contexta so it’s hardly surprising to find them performing Byrd with …