Royal Rhymes and Rounds

23 tracks - MP3 192 Kbps - RAR 103 Mb

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Royal Rhymes and Rounds is the King's Singers' contribution to the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession to the throne in 2012. There are ballads, part songs, madrigals, rounds, and anthems written during the reigns of (and some also in honor of) Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, Victoria, and Elizabeth II. The music from the times of Henry and Elizabeth I is especially strong since it was the era of a flowering of English song, which then lay relatively dormant for several centuries. The composers include such luminaries as William Cornysh, Orlando Gibbons, John Dowland, and Thomas Weelkes, as well as Henry himself, whose rousing ballad Pastime with good companie opens the album. It's in this transparent repertoire that the group sounds its absolute best. The singers' immaculate intonation, focused tone quality, and sensitive musicianship are remarkable. The plummy tributes to Victoria are significantly less distinguished musically, but the group delivers performances of complete conviction. Elizabeth II is represented by the Choral Dances from Gloriana, the opera Benjamin Britten wrote in honor of her coronation, and here again the material gives the singers the opportunity to dazzle with the beauty, clarity, and liveliness of their tone. The album closes with a piece written especially for the occasion: A Rough Guide to the Royal Succession (It's just one damn King after another…), a witty and informative traversal of monarchs, right up to an irreverent, if not downright disrespectful paean to Elizabeth II and her family, with words and music by Paul Drayton. Signum's sound is clean, detailed, and intimate.

contents:

Pastime with good companie by King Henry VIII

Ah, Robin, gentle Robin by William Cornysh

Blow thy horn, hunter by William Cornysh

It is to me a right great joy by King Henry VIII

Hey, trolly lolly lo by Anonymous

Long live fair Oriana by Ellis Gibbons

The Silver Swan - Round by Orlando Gibbons

The Silver Swan by Orlando Gibbons

Fair Oriana, beauty's Queen by John Hilton

Lightly she whipped o'er the dales by John Mundy

Flow, O my tears by John Dowland

Weep, O mine eyes by John Bennet

As Vesta was from Latmos hill descending by Thomas Weelkes

The Triumph of Victoria by Sir Walter Parratt

Who can dwell with greatness? by Sir Hubert Parry

To her beneath whose steadfast star by Sir Edward Elgar

Time - Choral Dances from Gloriana by Benjamin Britten

Concord - Choral Dances from Gloriana by Benjamin Britten

Time and Concord - Choral Dances from Gloriana by Benjamin Britten

Country Girls - Choral Dances from Gloriana by Benjamin Britten

Rustics and Fishermen - Choral Dances from Gloriana by Benjamin Britten

Final Dance of Homage - Choral Dances from Gloriana by Benjamin Britten

A Rough Guide to the Royal Succession by Paul Drayton

The King's Singers