W. Byrd - Hodie Simon Petrus

This latest release in The Cardinall�s Musick complete Byrd Edition is surely one of the most eagerly awaited events in the early music calendar. Previous discs in this award-winning survey of the greatest composer of the age have commanded the highest possible critical acclaim. Performances of filigree clarity, yet great passion and sincerity, allow the composer�s particular genius to shine forth in an unhindered blaze of glory.The works in this eleventh volume present Byrd the recusant: covering the last year of his fashionable career in London and moving to a quieter life in the Essex countryside. The music is from two sources: the magnificent Cantiones Sacrae of 1591 and the Gradualia from 1607. The seven motets from 1591 show Byrd to be pre-occupied with thoughts of desolation, loss, deprivation and separation�familiar ideas for the recusant Catholic community. A feeling of angst in the music is leavened by a sense of salvation and a glimmer of hope that is the composer�s constant refrain. The Gradualia contains some of the most imaginative, modern-sounding and energetic music that the composer ever wrote.The Cardinall�s inspirational director Andrew Carwood sets the scene with fascinating booklet notes that illustrate the complex political and religious circumstances in which this great music was engendered.