‘Ne Irascaris Domine’ and ‘Civitas Sancti Tui’ (William Byrd)

VOCES8 performs William Byrd’s double motet ‘Ne Irascaris Domine’ and ‘Civitas Sancti Tui’ in the Gresham Centre in London.

Text

Ne irascaris, Domine, satis

et ne ultra memineris iniquitatis nostrae.

Ecce, respice, populus tuus omnes nos.

Civitas sancti tui facta est deserta.

Sion deserta facta est, Jerusalem desolata est.

(Isaiah 64 v. 9)

Translation

Be not angry, O Lord, still,

neither remember our iniquity for ever.

Behold, see, we beseech thee, we are all thy people.

The holy cities are a wilderness.

Sion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.

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'Senex puerum portabat’ (William Byrd) at Ely Cathedral

"Ely Cathedral is one of those places where music lifts the soul towards heaven in surroundings that are sublime. In the setting of an empty Cathedral filled with over 6000 candles for Candlemas, Ely Cathedral Choir sings ‘Senex puerum portabat’ by the composer William Byrd."

  

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Agnus Dei - Mass for five voices (William Byrd)

William Byrd is considered the father of English music. He was a composer of the Renaissance. He cultivated many of the forms current in England at the time, including various types of sacred and secular polyphony, keyboard and consort music.