July 4th will mark the 400th anniversary of William Byrd’s passing. Among the most prominent figures of the rich Elizabethan school of composers, he is remembered for both his innovative keyboard pieces and his beautiful vocal compositions. This album by the Hilliard Ensemble, accompanied by a viol consort, focuses on vocal polyphonies on English profane and sacred texts excerpted from the collections Songs of Sundrie Natures (1589) and Psalms, Songs and Sonnets (1611).
