The Eton Choirbook is a giant 500 year-old manuscript from Eton College Chapel, and one of the greatest surviving glories of pre-Reformation England. This recording features the earliest polyphonic Passion by a named composer, two heartrending motets for five and six voices, two thrilling settings of the Magnificat, and an extraordinary canon in 13 parts, Jesus autem transiens. The ensemble TONUS PEREGRINUS has been widely acclaimed, not least for its “richly sung and very well recorded” programme of Orlando Gibbons, L’Estrange, and Pitts. (The Penguin Guide on 8.557681) The Eton Choirbook is a giant 500 year-old manuscript from Eton College Chapel, and one of the greatest surviving glories of pre-Reformation England. This recording features the earliest polyphonic Passion by a named composer, two heartrending motets for five and six voices, two thrilling settings of the Magnificat, and an extraordinary canon in 13 parts, Jesus autem transiens. The ensemble TONUS PEREGRINUS has…

Orlando Gibbons’ exquisite tunes and rock-solid bass-lines for the first English hymn-book, Hymnes and Songs of the Church (1623), were written to be sung and played both at home and in church. Specially realized by Antony Pitts and Alexander L’Estrange for this recording, the complete collection is interleaved with new English hymns and arranged in eight sequences following the Church’s liturgical year. Orlando Gibbons’ exquisite tunes and rock-solid bass-lines for the first English hymn-book, Hymnes and Songs of the Church (1623), were written to be sung and played both at home and in church. Specially realized by Antony Pitts and Alexander L’Estrange for this recording, the complete collection is interleaved with new English hymns and arranged in eight sequences following the Church’s liturgical year.

Adam de la Halle “the Hunchback” is justly the most famous composer of the late 13th century, and his greatest gift to posterity, Le Jeu de Robin et de Marion, is the first-ever opera – a pastoral romp brimming with delightful songs that so easily stand the test of over seven centuries. In this authentic yet innovative performance, the narrator (stage-right) tells the story in the original French dialect with his many voices – from coarse to courtly – while the singers move between a contemporary English interpretation (stage-left) and the timeless mediaeval lyrics and melodies of the super-troubadour himself... Adam de la Halle “the Hunchback” is justly the most famous composer of the late 13th century, and his greatest gift to posterity, Le Jeu de Robin et de Marion, is the first-ever opera – a pastoral romp brimming with delightful songs that so easily stand the test of over seven centuries. In this authentic yet innovative performance, the narrator (stage-right)…

John Dunstaple (a.k.a. Dunstable) was not just the first truly great English composer, he was also musical godfather to the Renaissance. In the middle of the 15th Century poet Martin le Franc famously described how Dufay had adopted the English manner championed by Dunstaple – la contenance Angloise – and how, to Continental ears, this new style of music sounded so fresh, and above all, joyful. From the sweet-sounding triads of Quam pulchra es to the total harmonic control of Veni Sancte Spiritus – Veni Creator, this selection of Dunstaple’s sacred music must simply rank as some of the happiest music ever recorded. John Dunstaple (a.k.a. Dunstable) was not just the first truly great English composer, he was also musical godfather to the Renaissance. In the middle of the 15th Century poet Martin le Franc famously described how Dufay had adopted the English manner championed by Dunstaple – la contenance Angloise – and how, to Continental ears, this new style of music sounded…

From plainchant via simple 9th-century harmonies and the virtuosic duets of Master Léonin (known as organum), this hauntingly beautiful sequence charts the birth of polyphony up to the first music in four independent parts – composed by Master Pérotin and sung during the liturgy at the new Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris. From the official laying of the cornerstone in 1163 to the completion of the famous Western façade almost a hundred years later, Notre-Dame was the fertile home of singers and composers whose extraordinary handiwork has come down to us in the magnus liber organi: the “Great Book of Organum”. From plainchant via simple 9th-century harmonies and the virtuosic duets of Master Léonin (known as organum), this hauntingly beautiful sequence charts the birth of polyphony up to the first music in four independent parts – composed by Master Pérotin and sung during the liturgy at the new Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris. From the official laying of the cornerstone…

The Naxos Book of Carols is a collection of both the very old and very new. It is a selection of best-loved and new-found carols, drawing on centuries of tradition. The settings are all new, commissioned by Naxos for this recording (scores available for download from www.naxoscarols.com in association with Faber Music). the carols unfold in four narrative sequences each focusing on a different part of the Christmas Story – from the hope of Advent to the announcements of the Message, the joy of the Birth of the Baby and the celebration of the coming of the King of Kings. there are 24 carols, one for each day of Advent. The Naxos Book of Carols is a collection of both the very old and very new. It is a selection of best-loved and new-found carols, drawing on centuries of tradition. The settings are all new, commissioned by Naxos for this recording (scores available for download from www.naxoscarols.com in association with Faber Music). the carols unfold in four narrative…

The earliest complete polyphonic settings of the Mass and the Passion that have come down to us are the 14th-century Mass of Tournai from what is now Belgium, and an English St Luke Passion from the early 15th-century ‘Windsor’ Manuscript. Both settings are anonymous and in three-voice polyphony, and the six movements of the Mass of Tournai reflect both the old-fashioned and the more up-to-date practices of ars antiqua and ars nova. The St Luke Passion displays characteristic English sweetness in its harmony, as well as unexpectedly dramatic responses to the events of the 24 hours from the Last Supper to Jesus’s short-lived entombment.

Born near Tallinn in Estonia in 1935, Arvo Pärt emigrated in 1980 and settled in Berlin. Soon after emigrating, Pärt completed the St John Passion which he based on his new-found tintinnabuli principle that “the melody and the accompaniment is one”. Settings of the Passion are part of a very early tradition in the Church, and in Pärt’s setting it is the text itself which