England's Golden Age

Series

Episode

Title

First
Broadcast

Repeated

Comments

2019

Oriana's Triumphs

20190603

20221024 (R3)

The composers of 16th-century England flourished under the rule of Elizabeth I, rapidly developing a diverse musical culture unparalleled anywhere on the continent, a truly Golden Age for English music. In this week of programmes Donald Macleod explores six composers who were key to this ascent - Thomas Morley, John Bull, Peter Philips, Thomas Weelkes, Orlando Gibbons and Thomas Tomkins. These composers were all active at around the same time as the `Father of British Musick` William Byrd and John Dowland, and all either studied or worked with Byrd, but they don't often receive the same attention as those more famous names. In Monday's programme, Donald explores the circumstances which allowed the six composers to flourish under Elizabeth I's rule.

Morley: It was a Lover and his lass

Ian Bostridge, tenor

Elizabeth Kenny, lute

Tomkins: Fantasia a 6 no. 18

Phantasm

Tomkins: Too Much I Once Lamented (for Byrd)

Le Cris de Paris

Geoffroy Jourdain, director

Bull: Chromatic Pavan and Galliard MB 87a/b

Sophie Yates, virginals

Philips: Hodie beata Virgo Maria; Surgens Jesus; Ave Verum Corpus (Cantiones Sacrae 1612, Vol I)

Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge

Richard Marlow, conductor

Gibbons: Prelude in D minor

Laurence Cummings, organ

Gibbons: See, See the World is Incarnate

Robin Blaze, countertenor

Oxford Camerata

Jeremy Summerly, conductor

Weelkes: As Vesta was from Latmos Hill Descending

I Fagiolini

Robert Hollingworth, conductor

Morley: Hard by a Crystal Fountain

Produced by Sam Phillips for BBC Wales

Exploring the conditions which led to music flourishing under Elizabeth I's rule.

2019

The Italian Influence

20190604

20221025 (R3)

The composers of 16th-century England flourished under the rule of Elizabeth I, rapidly developing a diverse musical culture unparalleled anywhere on the continent, a truly Golden Age for English music. In this week of programmes Donald Macleod explores six composers who were key to this ascent - Thomas Morley, John Bull, Peter Philips, Thomas Weelkes, Orlando Gibbons and Thomas Tomkins. These composers were all active at around the same time as the `Father of British Musick` William Byrd and John Dowland, and all either studied or worked with Byrd, but they don't often receive the same attention as those more famous names. One of the major factors in this English explosion of cultural maturity was the influence of the Italian renaissance. In Tuesday's programme, Donald examines the impact of Italy on England's Golden Age and the role of Thomas Morley and his monopoly of printing in the promotion of Italianate styles.

Alfonso Ferrabosco the Elder: Questi ch'indizio fan del mio tormento (Madrigal from Musica transalpina I, 1588)

La Compagnia del Madrigale

Morley: Now is the month of maying; Sing we and chant it; On a fair morning

Madrigal;

The King's Singers

Robert Spencer, lute

Morley: Canzonets or Litle Short Aers to Five and Six Voices: No. 12 Cruel, Wilt Thou Persever

Morley/Philips: Pavan & Galliard (arr. Philips based on Morley's originals)

Rose Consort of Viols

Philips: Lasso, non e morir

Cappella Mediterranea

Leonardo Garcia Alarcon, director

Philips: Amarilli (after G. Caccini)

Christopher Hogwood, virginals

Philips: Gaude Maria virgo

Stile Antico

Weelkes: O Care Thou Wilt Dispatch Me (Parts 1 and 2)

Hilliard Ensemble

Paul Hillier, conductor

Weelkes: Come, Sirrah Jack, ho!

Weelkes: Thule, the period of cosmology - The Andalusian merchant

The Queen's Six

Gibbons: The Silver Swan (c.1611)

The Sixteen

Harry Christophers, conductor

Tomkins: Oft did I marle (c.1622)

I Fagiolini

Robert Hollingworth, conductor

Produced by Sam Phillips for BBC Wales

Donald Macleod examines the impact of Italy on England's Golden Age.

2019

Composers In Exile

20190605

20221026 (R3)

The composers of 16th-century England flourished under the rule of Elizabeth I, rapidly developing a diverse musical culture unparalleled anywhere on the continent, a truly Golden Age for English music. In this week of programmes Donald Macleod explores six composers who were key to this ascent - Thomas Morley, John Bull, Peter Philips, Thomas Weelkes, Orlando Gibbons and Thomas Tomkins. These composers were all active at around the same time as the `Father of British Musick` William Byrd and John Dowland, and all either studied or worked with Byrd, but they don't often receive the same attention as those more famous names. In Wednesday's programme, Donald explores the lives of the composers who lived and worked in exile during this period including Peter Philips - after Byrd the most published English composer of the age.

Philips: Salve Regina

Capella Mediteranea

Leonardo Garcia Alarcon, conductor

Philips: Pavan & Galliard in memory of Lord Paget

Rose Consort of Viols

Morley: Magnificat and Nunc Dimitis from First Service

Bristol Cathedral Choir

Ian Ball, organ

Christopher Brayne, conductor

Bull: Pavan No 2 (from Parthenia)

Catalina Vicens, double virginal

Bull: Almighty God, Which by the leading of a Star

Studio de Musique Ancienne de Montr退al

Christopher Jackson, conductor

Bull: Fantasia on a fugue of Sweelinck

Robin Walker, organ

Philips: Pavan and Galliard Dolorosa

Ton Koopman, harpsichord

Produced by Sam Phillips for BBC Wales

Donald Macleod explores the composers who lived in exile during England's Golden Age.

2019

James I's Chapel Royal And The Short Life Of Orlando Gibbons

20190606

20221027 (R3)

The composers of 16th-century England flourished under the rule of Elizabeth I, rapidly developing a diverse musical culture unparalleled anywhere on the continent, a truly Golden Age for English music. In this week of programmes Donald Macleod explores six composers who were key to this ascent - Thomas Morley, John Bull, Peter Philips, Thomas Weelkes, Orlando Gibbons and Thomas Tomkins. These composers were all active at around the same time as the `Father of British Musick` William Byrd and John Dowland, and all either studied or worked with Byrd, but they don't often receive the same attention as those more famous names. The Chapel Royal played an important role in musical life under James I. In Thursday's programme, Donald explores the Chapel Royal and the increasing importance of Orlando Gibbons in James I's court.

Bull: Coranto - Alarm

The Canadian Brass

Weelkes: O Lord, Grand the King a Long Life

The Choir of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge

Fretwork

David Skinner, conductor

Gibbons: Fantasia No 5 in G minor

Robert Wooley, organ

Gibbons: O Clap your hands

The Clerkes of Oxenford

David Wulstan, conductor

Gibbons: Lord Salisbury's Pavan and Galliard from Parthenia

Alina Rotaru, virginals

Bull: Pavan & Galliard `St Thomas Wake`

Gibbons: Nay Let me weep (Part 1)

The Consort of Musicke

Anthony Rooley, conductor

Tomkins: Know You Not

The Sixteen

Harry Christophers, conductor

Gibbons: O Lord in thy Wrath, Rebuke me Not

Oxford Camerata

Jeremy Summerly, conductor

Produced by Sam Phillips for BBC Wales

Donald Macleod explores the Chapel Royal under James I.

2019

05 LAST

Thomas Tomkins: A Last Flowering Of The Golden Age

20190607

20221028 (R3)

The composers of 16th-century England flourished under the rule of Elizabeth I, rapidly developing a diverse musical culture unparalleled anywhere on the continent, a truly Golden Age for English music. In this week of programmes Donald Macleod explores six composers who were key to this ascent - Thomas Morley, John Bull, Peter Philips, Thomas Weelkes, Orlando Gibbons and Thomas Tomkins. These composers were all active at around the same time as the `Father of British Musick` William Byrd and John Dowland, and all either studied or worked with Byrd, but they don't often receive the same attention as those more famous names. In Friday's programme, Donald surveys the later life and work of the composers, especially Thomas Tomkins- the last surviving member of the group as England girded its loins for revolution.

Weelkes: Death hath deprived me of my dearest friend

The Queen's Six

Tomkins: Cloris When As I Woo

Tomkins: O Let Me Live for True Love

I Fagiolini

Robert Hollingworth, conductor

Tomkins: Be Strong and of good courage

The Sixteen

Harry Christophers, conductor

Tomkins: Offertory

Bernard Cuillier, virginals

Tomkins: Thou Art My King

Choir of Magdalen College, Oxford

Phantasm

Daniel Hyde, conductor

Tomkins: Pavan `for these distracted times`

Guy Penson, virginals

Tomkins: The Lady Folliot's Galliard

Edward Parmentier, harpsichord

Tomkins: Burial Sentences

Vox Luminis

Produced by Sam Phillips for BBC Wales

Donald Macleod surveys the later life of the last surviving composer of the Golden Age.

Episodes

Series	Episode	Title	First Broadcast	Repeated	Comments
2019	01	Oriana's Triumphs	20190603	20221024 (R3)	The composers of 16th-century England flourished under the rule of Elizabeth I, rapidly developing a diverse musical culture unparalleled anywhere on the continent, a truly Golden Age for English music. In this week of programmes Donald Macleod explores six composers who were key to this ascent - Thomas Morley, John Bull, Peter Philips, Thomas Weelkes, Orlando Gibbons and Thomas Tomkins. These composers were all active at around the same time as the `Father of British Musick` William Byrd and John Dowland, and all either studied or worked with Byrd, but they don't often receive the same attention as those more famous names. In Monday's programme, Donald explores the circumstances which allowed the six composers to flourish under Elizabeth I's rule. Morley: It was a Lover and his lass Ian Bostridge, tenor Elizabeth Kenny, lute Tomkins: Fantasia a 6 no. 18 Phantasm Tomkins: Too Much I Once Lamented (for Byrd) Le Cris de Paris Geoffroy Jourdain, director Bull: Chromatic Pavan and Galliard MB 87a/b Sophie Yates, virginals Philips: Hodie beata Virgo Maria; Surgens Jesus; Ave Verum Corpus (Cantiones Sacrae 1612, Vol I) Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge Richard Marlow, conductor Gibbons: Prelude in D minor Laurence Cummings, organ Gibbons: See, See the World is Incarnate Robin Blaze, countertenor Oxford Camerata Jeremy Summerly, conductor Weelkes: As Vesta was from Latmos Hill Descending I Fagiolini Robert Hollingworth, conductor Morley: Hard by a Crystal Fountain Produced by Sam Phillips for BBC Wales Exploring the conditions which led to music flourishing under Elizabeth I's rule.
2019	02	The Italian Influence	20190604	20221025 (R3)	The composers of 16th-century England flourished under the rule of Elizabeth I, rapidly developing a diverse musical culture unparalleled anywhere on the continent, a truly Golden Age for English music. In this week of programmes Donald Macleod explores six composers who were key to this ascent - Thomas Morley, John Bull, Peter Philips, Thomas Weelkes, Orlando Gibbons and Thomas Tomkins. These composers were all active at around the same time as the `Father of British Musick` William Byrd and John Dowland, and all either studied or worked with Byrd, but they don't often receive the same attention as those more famous names. One of the major factors in this English explosion of cultural maturity was the influence of the Italian renaissance. In Tuesday's programme, Donald examines the impact of Italy on England's Golden Age and the role of Thomas Morley and his monopoly of printing in the promotion of Italianate styles. Alfonso Ferrabosco the Elder: Questi ch'indizio fan del mio tormento (Madrigal from Musica transalpina I, 1588) La Compagnia del Madrigale Morley: Now is the month of maying; Sing we and chant it; On a fair morning Madrigal; The King's Singers Robert Spencer, lute Morley: Canzonets or Litle Short Aers to Five and Six Voices: No. 12 Cruel, Wilt Thou Persever Morley/Philips: Pavan & Galliard (arr. Philips based on Morley's originals) Rose Consort of Viols Philips: Lasso, non e morir Cappella Mediterranea Leonardo Garcia Alarcon, director Philips: Amarilli (after G. Caccini) Christopher Hogwood, virginals Philips: Gaude Maria virgo Stile Antico Weelkes: O Care Thou Wilt Dispatch Me (Parts 1 and 2) Hilliard Ensemble Paul Hillier, conductor Weelkes: Come, Sirrah Jack, ho! Weelkes: Thule, the period of cosmology - The Andalusian merchant The Queen's Six Gibbons: The Silver Swan (c.1611) The Sixteen Harry Christophers, conductor Tomkins: Oft did I marle (c.1622) I Fagiolini Robert Hollingworth, conductor Produced by Sam Phillips for BBC Wales Donald Macleod examines the impact of Italy on England's Golden Age.
2019	03	Composers In Exile	20190605	20221026 (R3)	The composers of 16th-century England flourished under the rule of Elizabeth I, rapidly developing a diverse musical culture unparalleled anywhere on the continent, a truly Golden Age for English music. In this week of programmes Donald Macleod explores six composers who were key to this ascent - Thomas Morley, John Bull, Peter Philips, Thomas Weelkes, Orlando Gibbons and Thomas Tomkins. These composers were all active at around the same time as the `Father of British Musick` William Byrd and John Dowland, and all either studied or worked with Byrd, but they don't often receive the same attention as those more famous names. In Wednesday's programme, Donald explores the lives of the composers who lived and worked in exile during this period including Peter Philips - after Byrd the most published English composer of the age. Philips: Salve Regina Capella Mediteranea Leonardo Garcia Alarcon, conductor Philips: Pavan & Galliard in memory of Lord Paget Rose Consort of Viols Morley: Magnificat and Nunc Dimitis from First Service Bristol Cathedral Choir Ian Ball, organ Christopher Brayne, conductor Bull: Pavan No 2 (from Parthenia) Catalina Vicens, double virginal Bull: Almighty God, Which by the leading of a Star Studio de Musique Ancienne de Montr退al Christopher Jackson, conductor Bull: Fantasia on a fugue of Sweelinck Robin Walker, organ Philips: Pavan and Galliard Dolorosa Ton Koopman, harpsichord Produced by Sam Phillips for BBC Wales Donald Macleod explores the composers who lived in exile during England's Golden Age.
2019	04	James I's Chapel Royal And The Short Life Of Orlando Gibbons	20190606	20221027 (R3)	The composers of 16th-century England flourished under the rule of Elizabeth I, rapidly developing a diverse musical culture unparalleled anywhere on the continent, a truly Golden Age for English music. In this week of programmes Donald Macleod explores six composers who were key to this ascent - Thomas Morley, John Bull, Peter Philips, Thomas Weelkes, Orlando Gibbons and Thomas Tomkins. These composers were all active at around the same time as the `Father of British Musick` William Byrd and John Dowland, and all either studied or worked with Byrd, but they don't often receive the same attention as those more famous names. The Chapel Royal played an important role in musical life under James I. In Thursday's programme, Donald explores the Chapel Royal and the increasing importance of Orlando Gibbons in James I's court. Bull: Coranto - Alarm The Canadian Brass Weelkes: O Lord, Grand the King a Long Life The Choir of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Fretwork David Skinner, conductor Gibbons: Fantasia No 5 in G minor Robert Wooley, organ Gibbons: O Clap your hands The Clerkes of Oxenford David Wulstan, conductor Gibbons: Lord Salisbury's Pavan and Galliard from Parthenia Alina Rotaru, virginals Bull: Pavan & Galliard `St Thomas Wake` Gibbons: Nay Let me weep (Part 1) The Consort of Musicke Anthony Rooley, conductor Tomkins: Know You Not The Sixteen Harry Christophers, conductor Gibbons: O Lord in thy Wrath, Rebuke me Not Oxford Camerata Jeremy Summerly, conductor Produced by Sam Phillips for BBC Wales Donald Macleod explores the Chapel Royal under James I.
2019	05 LAST	Thomas Tomkins: A Last Flowering Of The Golden Age	20190607	20221028 (R3)	The composers of 16th-century England flourished under the rule of Elizabeth I, rapidly developing a diverse musical culture unparalleled anywhere on the continent, a truly Golden Age for English music. In this week of programmes Donald Macleod explores six composers who were key to this ascent - Thomas Morley, John Bull, Peter Philips, Thomas Weelkes, Orlando Gibbons and Thomas Tomkins. These composers were all active at around the same time as the `Father of British Musick` William Byrd and John Dowland, and all either studied or worked with Byrd, but they don't often receive the same attention as those more famous names. In Friday's programme, Donald surveys the later life and work of the composers, especially Thomas Tomkins- the last surviving member of the group as England girded its loins for revolution. Weelkes: Death hath deprived me of my dearest friend The Queen's Six Tomkins: Cloris When As I Woo Tomkins: O Let Me Live for True Love I Fagiolini Robert Hollingworth, conductor Tomkins: Be Strong and of good courage The Sixteen Harry Christophers, conductor Tomkins: Offertory Bernard Cuillier, virginals Tomkins: Thou Art My King Choir of Magdalen College, Oxford Phantasm Daniel Hyde, conductor Tomkins: Pavan `for these distracted times` Guy Penson, virginals Tomkins: The Lady Folliot's Galliard Edward Parmentier, harpsichord Tomkins: Burial Sentences Vox Luminis Produced by Sam Phillips for BBC Wales Donald Macleod surveys the later life of the last surviving composer of the Golden Age.