William Byrd - The Complete Keyboard Music

Davitt Moroney
harpsichords, muselar virginal, clavichord, organ, chamber organ

The Gramophone Award-winning artist, Davitt Moroney has spent more than fifteen years planning this momentous project and Hyperion is proud to be able to bring Davitt's wealth of expertise and musicianship to the label. Indeed, Davitt has even written the extensive booklet notes (45,000 words!).


As an authentic complete survey of this music, six different instruments have been used for the recording - two different harpsichords, muselar virginal, clavichord, chamber organ, and the Ahrend organ at L'Église-Musée des Augustins, Toulouse. The muselar virginal was specially made for this recording. Also of special significance are the venues chosen for the recordings. They are: Ingatestone Hall in Essex, England which was the house of Byrd's patron Lord Petre (the house still belongs to the family today); L'Église-Musée des Augustins, Toulouse, France (where the huge and high nave creates an echo that lasts for nearly fifteen seconds, not unlike the acoustic at Lincoln Cathedral where Byrd was the organist and master of the choristers); and L'Abbaye Royale de Fontevraud, France, the burial place of Henry II and Richard the Lionheart. 'Surely definitive and a triumph for all concerned; The quality of the interpretation flows flawlessly throughout the series; Probably the most significant issue I have yet reviewed. There are so many glorious details in his playing that it is hard to know where to begin in its praise' ) 'In his 100-page essay on William Byrd, Moroney argues forcefully that the 56 pavans and galliards deserve to be ranked with the 48 preludes and fugues of Bach and the 32 sonatas of Beethoven. And on the strength of his superb playing of a rich array of contrasting instruments, the case for Byrd as one of the great keyboard composers is more than justified: the extraordinary spectrum of influences from which the Elizabethan composer took his inspiration suggests a genius as versatile as the great baroque and classical masters. This marvellous set - recorded painstakingly over six years and only now released as an integral edition - provides invaluable insight into this relatively neglected aspect of Byrd's prolific output. Moroney is as convincing on the organ - using 17th-century instruments or copies, but without the pedals that Byrd would not have known - as he is on the harpsichord, clavicord and virginals. A monument in the history of early-music recording.' () 'In 25 years of reviewing I haven't come across anything of such importance, substance and consistent musicianship' ()