The 400th anniversary of Orlando Gibbons' death has not been widely celebrated, despite his being a significant English madrigalist and a key transitional figure between Renaissance and baroque music. Gibbons, born in 1583, has been overshadowed by William Byrd. Fretwork's performance includes several of his string chamber works and introduces Nico Muhly's composition My Days, which reflects on Gibbons through a setting of Psalm 39. Muhly's piece, marked by urgent string figures, serves as a ritualized memory that contrasts with Gibbons' flowing vocal works, culminating in a unique performance experience that intertwines history and modern composition.
Gibbons, who was born in Oxford in 1583, was one of the last significant English madrigalists and is often viewed as a transitional figure between Renaissance music and the baroque.
Muhly describes the result as a ritualised memory piece about Orlando Gibbons, contrasting beautifully with the flowing imitations of Gibbons' fantasias.
The quartet of counter tenor, two tenors and baritone moves in luminous rhythmic unison through the psalm, before the autopsy is delivered as a series of Gibbons-like responses.
This 400th anniversary of Gibbons' death has been one of the less prominently marked dates of this year's significant musical celebrations.
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