Playing Meeting with Rachel Begley

Description

Exactly four hundred years ago, England lost three important musicians - William Byrd, Thomas Weelkes, and Philip Rosseter. Between them, their compositions are among the finest of England's Golden Age, and represent almost every compositional genre of the period. We will be playing a varied selection of less familiar pieces from these fine composers, including new arrangements especially for recorder consort, taken from the keyboard, solo lute, viol consort and lute song repertoire. 1623 may have marked the end of of life for these English masters, but it also marked the beginning of life for Johann Schmelzer, who was to become the finest Austrian composer of instrumental music of his generation. We will be playing his joyful “Sonata a 7 flauti”, composed specifically for seven recorders, in a version that includes recorders from soprano down to contrabass.