Tom & Will : Weelkes & Byrd 400 years (2023)

The many 400th anniversary projects and celebrations commemorating the life and music of William Byrd (c.1540-1623) have finally come to fruition, from concerts and festivals to books and articles to, like this, dedicated recordings of the many forms and genres the composer mastered throughout his long life. This recording offers quite a different take by incorporating, in equal measure, the music of Thomas Weelkes who also died in 1623 although as a relatively younger man. Byrd lived more than 80 years, while Weelkes only 47: two composers from two different generations, and certainly two men of wildly contrasting characters. (...)