Byrd, William: Anthems and Canticles - arr. Morten Schuldt-Jensen (SAM a cappella)

This collection has been put together to mark the 400th anniversary of the death of William Byrd (1539/40–1623), an English composer considered by many as among the finest composers of the Renaissance.

Performances of Byrd’s Latin works only started to appear in non-Catholic settings during the period of increasing religious tolerance towards the end of the 19th century, over 250 years after his death.

The early performances of these works would have been behind closed doors in acts of worship shared with fellow Catholic recusants. Thankfully, many of the Latin works are now regular staples of the choral canon in both Catholic and Anglican worship.

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 SAM-Klang series offers basic and advanced choral repertoire arranged for soprano, alto and one male voice- part. 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. 

Content:
1. Ave verum corpus [William Byrd]
2. Civitas sancti tui [William Byrd]
3. Prevent us, O Lord [William Byrd]
4. Sacerdotes Domini [William Byrd]
5. Short Service: Magnificat and Nunc dimittis [William Byrd]