The organ used in this recording is a portable instrument with one manual and six stops, built in 2019 by Luc Meurice for the Ricercar Consort, designed in a 17th-century German style.
Historical Context
The album title, "Distracted Tymes," refers to the period of political, religious, and philosophical upheaval in early 17th-century England, culminating in the English Civil War and the execution of King Charles I in 1649.
Instruments
From the 1620s, the viol consort was often accompanied by a chamber organ, which doubled the viol parts and helped keep the instruments in tune.
Compositional Technique
English viol consort music, which flourished during the Elizabethan and Stuart eras, is a major and original contribution to polyphonic music, characterized by equal importance of all parts and a continuous musical conversation.
Instruments
In aristocratic households, sets of six viols of different sizes were often stored in a large chest, known as 'a chest of viols,' and were precisely proportioned for perfect timbre blending.
Historical Context
Consort music was primarily a private practice, played by and for a small group in an enclosed space, with players arranged in a circle, facing each other, without concern for an audience.
Composer Biography
William Lawes, a composer who spent his short life in the service of King Charles I, was killed during the English Revolution while fighting for the Royalist army, and the King honored him with the title 'Father of Musick'.
