Delving Into a Tudor Past.

As I write I am listening to Byrd's 3 part mass. I have not sung that since touring Andalusia at Easter 1988. For the past decade or so I have slowly been trying to collect all the recordings I did at King's on CD. Not quite ventured into the iPod/download world yet. Alll of those recordings are at least 30 years old. Result, some are hard to find.

A few weeks ago with much delight I found at a good price the 3 Tudor Masses that I recorded back in 1980 and 1981. It were delivered this week. King's a had thing about Tudor and Renaissance music at the time as we had recorded Palestrina's Ave Maria Mass just prior to that. Today I listened to the Tallis Puer Natus Est, sometimes known as the Christmas Mass, and Byrd's 5 part Mass. All great classics but we feared singing them. Why? Well they are very long, long and difficult. In fact the first time we performed the Tallis it all collapsed. Yes even the greatest of choirs collapse sometimes. At the time though it didn't seem difficult, 5, 6, and indeed 7 part Masses. The 7 parter of Tye Euge Bone I listened to yesterday.

I listen now as someone approaching 44 with a greater understanding of the words, the music, and the history of the time. Funny what we learn with age. Bernie Rosen whom I've mentioned before on here once said to me "I think everyone should go to Cambridge but not until they are at least 40". In retrospect he was right. That was about all he was right about.

The music of the Tudors has been my backdrop to 2 markedly different days. Yesterday it seemed everything that could go wrong did. All were small things save some fool accidentally walking off with my medication from the chemist. Given that I had completely run out of the Holy Grail of risperidone it was a few minutes of extreme anxiety. Today was much better although it led to another trip to the chemist for antibiotics. So am on them for a week.

Mentally my mood remains high but not dangerous. Yesterday was just an aberration. Tomorrow will be good. Now to make shepherd's pie and listen further to glories of Byrd-check him out, he is very fine.

I Heard a Voice.

PS The Vietnamese chicken with ginger, honey and 5 spice I cooked earlier was most definitely a triumph!