From Byrd
William Byrd (1539-1623)
Mass for 3 voices
Trio Musica Humana
Elisabeth Geiger (muselaar)
rec. 2024, Temple Protestant de Villefavard, Haute Vienne, Limousin, France
Booklet in English & French, with English texts & French translations
Seulétoile SE12 [46]

There is little point in my paraphrasing the admirably concise description of this release on the Seulétoile website, so I quote it here:

‘For its first recording, the Musica Humana Trio has chosen to record the Mass for 3 voices by William Byrd…and to build around this work a programme for three male voices and virginal, made up of madrigals and instrumental pieces by William Byrd, Thomas Weelkes, Thomas Tomkins, Giles Farnaby, Thomas Morley, and John Johnson.

From Byrd is a nostalgic tribute to the English composer, as well as to the beginnings of their trio, the three TMH singers having met around this Mass for 3 voices when they were at the Maîtrise Notre-Dame de Paris. Lionel Sow was the choirmaster at the time – so the disc is under his aegis, and opens with a text by him. It also includes a text on the muselaar by Elisabeth Geiger, a text on William Byrd by Sébastien Mahieuxe and a text by Jérémie Arcache, who was responsible for the artistic direction of the album.’

As a British Francophile/phone and translator, I much appreciate the fact that a French ensemble loves this music and has seen fit to record this tribute to an English composer, but must advise those of a sensitive disposition to look away now, as those notes contain a few typically precious and very Gallic effusions which sound slightly ridiculous, especially when translated into English. I give you these two samples and will then desist: “Byrd succeeds in aligning the sensitivity of each vocal line with the spiritual depth that emanates from the collective” and “We think of the records we listened to as teenagers…which are like Proustian madeleines.” I wouldn’t have put it better myself…and while I am in Grinch mode, let me observe that under 46 minutes for a recital album is a bit cheeky; it would have been short measure even for an LP.

Such a small ensemble indicates that these are simpler, “stripped-down” versions, performed in such a manner as to render the lines of Byrd’s music with greater clarity and of course also reflects the fact that Byrd’s recusant Mass would have been sung “in the intimacy of a secret service held in the family chapel at Ingatestone Hall [the residence of devout Catholic Sir John Petre], with only a few singers and instrumentalists.” (notes by Sébastien Mahieuxe, director of the Ferme de Villefavard en Limousin, the Cultural Meeting Centre, under whose auspices this recording was made).

Another helpful note by Elisabeth Geiger explains, for the ignorant like me, the difference between a virginal and the muselaar instrument she plays here and the reasons for its distinctive sound.

To the performances and the music itself: the singers are recorded closely and at an unusually high volume which presents no problem once you have adjusted it to a comfortable level, and I very much like the “churchy” acoustic which has some reverberation but allows us to hear each vocal line clearly. Their blend and intonation are excellent, whether they are singing a cappella or accompanied by the muselaar which, as the note explains, has a unique and very attractive timbre by virtue of two factors: first, when a key is struck, the string is “plucked at the middle of the vibrating length”, and secondly its “mother and child” dual keyboard incorporates “a simple and ingenious system” allowing both the note and its octave above to sound simultaneously. Its sound is very evocative and redolent of the Elizabethan era; Elisabeth Geiger’s playing is spirited and wholly indicative of her delight in the music. I also like the fact that there is nothing affected or ”arty” about these performances; it is just straightforward singing, shorn of vibrato but open-throated, and energetic keyboard playing. Yann Roland’s countertenor is especially pleasing.

While I knew Byrd’s four and five-part Masses, I confess that the entire repertory here was new to me, both the three-part Mass and all of the interspersed items – but then, I am no specialist in this field. I can only say that every track affords me considerable pleasure. In two pieces, the tenor of the trio, Martial Pauliat, displays his musical versatility by accompanying Geiger on a second muselaar, which  adds textural richness to the programme. I doubt whether many people are aware of composer Giles Farnaby or his For two virginals; it is a charming work; likewise, Morley’s Springtime, replete with archetypal “Fa la las”. It is perhaps a bit of a leap from that bucolic romp back to the Sanctus and Benedictus of the Byrd Mass but I like the variety and the dignified liturgical mood is consolidated by the inclusion of his Marian hymn Memento Salutis Auctor. (No translation is given, so I append that below the content details.) The penultimate track is an absolutely delightful keyboard arrangement of a piece called Rogero, by one John Johnson, of whom, again, I had never heard; to conclude, we return to the Mass with Byrd’s Agnus Dei.

The provision of texts in the booklet is a welcome feature, but as I remark above, the liturgical Latin has been left untranslated and the singers use modern English pronunciation; their diction and accent are impeccable.

This is an unusual and enterprising recording from a talented and committed small ensemble, which is thoroughly enjoyable.

Ralph Moore

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Performers

Trio Musica Humana & Elisabeth Geiger: Martial Pauliat (tenor, muselaar);Yann Rolland (countertenor); Igor Bouin (baritone); Elisabeth Geiger (muselaar)

Contents
Byrd: Mass for 3 Voices: Kyrie
Thomas Weelkes (173-1623): Madrigals to 3-6 voices n.6: Cease sorrows Now
Byrd: Mass for 3 Voices: Kyrie (Instrumental)
Byrd: Psalmes, sonets and Songs: Lullaby
Byrd: Fitzwilliam Virginal Book n.67: The Woods so Wild
Weelkes: Ayres or Phantastick Spirits for Three Voices n.14: Four Arms
Byrd: Songs of sundrie Natures: From Depth
Thomas Tomkins (1573-1656): Rés.1122, Paris BNF: A Sad Paven, For these distracted Times
Byrd: Mass for 3 Voices: Gloria
Giles Farnaby (1560-1640): Fitzwilliam Virginal Book n.55: For two Virginals
Thomas Morley (1557-1602): Canzonets to Three Voices n.24: Springtime
Byrd: Mass for 3 voices: Sanctus
Byrd: Mass for 3 voices: Benedictus
Byrd: Gradualia I: Memento salutis auctor
John Johnson (?-1594): Marsh Lute Book, Dublin Trinity College Library: Rogero
Byrd: Mass for 3 voices: Agnus Dei

Memento salutis auctor