This collection gathers together nearly sixty of the finest examples of the secular choral repertoire into one volume. Due space is given to the magnificent sixteenth century madrigals of England and Italy, with favorite works by Gibbons and Morley placed alongside less familiar selections by Lassus, Marenzio, and Weelkes. German and French pieces are also represented, for example, with Passereau's ever-popular Il est bel est bon. Works by Haydn and Schubert lead to the nineteenth century repertoire, which includes Brahms's lovely Nachtwache, from Five Songs, Op. 104, and Pearsall's exquisite Lay a Garland. The survey is completed by Debussy's Trois Chansons de Charles D'Orleans and examples of the glorious outpouring of English Romantic partsongs, with works by Elgar, Parry, Stanford, Britten, Finzi, and Vaughan Williams. Ranging from the late fifteenth to the twentieth century, and spanning all major European countries, this is a masterly survey suitable for all choirs. Clifford Bartlett has prepared completely new editions of all pre-twentieth century pieces, going back to the earliest and most reliable manuscript or printed sources. English translations are provided to aid understanding, with playable keyboard reductions in every case.

Songlist: Dindirin, dindirin, Il bianco e dolce cigno, Of all the birds that I do know, All creatures now, Nachtwache No. 1, The Evening Primrose, Never weather-beaten sail, So weich und warm, Trois chansons de Charles d'Orleans, To be sung of a summer night on the water, Come, heavy sleep, Can she excuse my wrongs, Weep You No More, Sad Fountains, As torrents in summer, My love dwelt in a Northern land, There is sweet music, Fair Phyllis I saw sitting all alone, My spirit sang all day, Since first I saw your face, Lieto godea, Amor vittorioso, Ah, dear heart, The silver swan, What is our life?, Tanzen und springen, Ach, Weh des Leiden, Die Harmonie in der Ehe, Innsbruck, ich muss dich lassen, Farewell, dear love, Mille regrets, and more

This collection features five of the most popular choral works from the English Madrigal School, a brief period from the 1580s to the 1620s that followed the arrival of Italian secular polyphony on English shores. The name SAM-Klang takes the three voice parts from the arrangements -- Soprano, Alto and Men -- and combines it with the Scandinavian and German words for sound to create the portmanteau word sound together or harmony. The series offers basic and advanced choral repertoire. In addition to new repertoire and new arrangements, you will also find essential parts of the classical German, Scandinavian, French and English SATB repertoire, carefully and considerately reworked for SAM. The arrangements retain the characteristic features of the original movements and have almost the same richness of timbre, resulting in works which sound nearly unchanged to an audience. Piano reductions of all choral movements facilitate rehearsal preparation. The arrangements offer development opportunities for all voice sections, bringing new life and new quality to SAM choir work. SAM-Klang enables youth choirs to gain access to classical choral literature and ensures that mixed choirs who face challenges in finding singers for all male voice parts continue to have access to well-loved repertoire.

Songlist: Since First I Saw Your Face, Weep, O Mine Eyes, April Is In My Mistress' Face, My Bonny Lass She Smileth, Come Again, Sweet Love

Fa la la, a cornucopia of your favorite Madrigals! John Rutter and the Cambridge Singers sing English madrigals and folk songs. As entertainment for public occasions and a relief from boredom, the English madrigal comes in a wide variety of styles from dramatic to silly. This recording includes lighter pieces such as "Now is the Month of Maying" and "My Bonnie Lass She Smileth" by Thomas Morley, the somber "Silver Swan" by Orlando Gibbons and the comical "Fair Phyllis" by John Farmer. In addition, the program includes folk song arrangements by Gustav Holst and Ralph Vaughn Williams. A classic recording.

Songlist: Come Away, Sweet Love, Weep, O Mine Eyes, Fair Phyllis I Saw, Now Is The Month Of Maying, Fairwell, Dear Love, April Is In My Mistress' Face, Draw On, Sweet Night, Sing We At Pleasure, My Bonny Lass She Smileth, The Silver Swan, Mother, I Will Have A Husband, Dainty Fine Bird, As Vesta Was from Latmos Hill Descending, I Love My Love, My Sweetheart's Like Venus, Bushes and Briars, The Turtle Dove, The Three Ravens, Dashing Away With The Smoothing Iron, O Waly, Waly, Greensleeves

Cambridge Singers : Flora Gave Me Fairest Flowers   

The sixteenth-century madrigal was an Italian form. The term 'madrigal' was loosely applied to a wide variety of music, but generally denoted a polyphonic setting for four or more voices of an amorous or pastoral text which was closely depicted in the music. Thomas Morely transplanted the form into England in the 1590s; this marked the beginning of the brief but brilliant flowering of the English madrigal. Between the 1590s and the early 1620s, twenty composers published a total of 36 books of madrigals, after which the form virtually disappeared. Some of these composers, such as Morely and Weelkes, followed the Italian model closely; others, such as Byrd and Gibbons, mostly stayed with the simpler English form of the consort song, where the tune remains in one voice, word-painting is not used, and strophic form is preferred to the continuous structure of the madrigal proper. Among the twenty-one items selected for this recording there are examples of several types of piece, ranging from true Italianate madrigals such as Too much I once lamented, via more popular 'balletts' such as Fyer, fyer!, to the simple part-songs like A little pretty bonny lass. The variety, imagination, and inspired blending of poetry and music characteristic of the best of the 'English Madrigal School' afford a particular kind of delight in performance, shared equally by singer and listener.

Songlist: Hark, all ye lovely saints above, Though Amaryllis dance in green, Round about in a fair ring, Adieu, ye city-prisoning towers, Flora gave me fairest flowers, Sweet Suffolk owl, As Vesta was from Latmos hill descending, Lullabye, This sweet and merry month of May, Now Is The Month Of Maying, A little pretty bonny lass, Fyer, fyer!, Too much I once lamented, My bonny lass she smileth, Ha ha! This world doth pass, Quick, quick, away, dispatch!, Dainty fine bird, Come again! Sweet love doth now invite, Mother, I Will have a husband, Draw on, sweet night, Sleep, fleshly birth, Weep, weep, mine eyes, Death hath deprived me, The silver swan, Adieu, sweet Amaryllis