John Wilbye: Draw On Sweet Night

Wilbye was one of the finest English madrigalists, publishing around 75 madrigals in two collections in 1598 and 1609. I Fagiolini sing 25 of them here with a winning sweetness of tone and admirable... — BBC Music Magazine, July 2022, 4 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 1st Apr 2022
Catalogue No: COR16190
Label: Coro

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Wilbye: Draw on, sweet night

I Fagiolini (early music ensemble)
Robert Hollingworth

Wilbye: Weep, weep, mine eyes

I Fagiolini (early music ensemble)
Robert Hollingworth

Wilbye: Adieu, sweet Amaryllis

I Fagiolini (early music ensemble)
Robert Hollingworth

Wilbye: Sweet honey-sucking bees

I Fagiolini (early music ensemble)
Robert Hollingworth

Wilbye: Thou art but young

I Fagiolini (early music ensemble)
Robert Hollingworth

Wilbye: Cruel, behold my heavy ending

I Fagiolini (early music ensemble)
Robert Hollingworth

Wilbye: I lie, yet me thinks

I Fagiolini (early music ensemble)
Robert Hollingworth

Wilbye: I love, alas yet am not loved

I Fagiolini (early music ensemble)
Robert Hollingworth

Wilbye: Oft have I vow’d

I Fagiolini (early music ensemble)
Robert Hollingworth

Wilbye: Down in an alley

I Fagiolini (early music ensemble)
Robert Hollingworth

Wilbye: When shall my wretched life?

I Fagiolini (early music ensemble)
Robert Hollingworth

Wilbye: O what shall I do

I Fagiolini (early music ensemble)
Robert Hollingworth

Wilbye: Love not me for comely grace

I Fagiolini (early music ensemble)
Robert Hollingworth

Wilbye: Happy, o happy he

I Fagiolini (early music ensemble)
Robert Hollingworth

Wilbye: There where I saw

I Fagiolini (early music ensemble)
Robert Hollingworth

Wilbye: Lady, your words do spite me

I Fagiolini (early music ensemble)
Robert Hollingworth

Wilbye: O wretched man

I Fagiolini (early music ensemble)
Robert Hollingworth

Wilbye: Ye Restless Thoughts

I Fagiolini (early music ensemble)
Robert Hollingworth

Wilbye: Lady when I behold

I Fagiolini (early music ensemble)
Robert Hollingworth

Wilbye: Thus Saith My Cloris Bright

I Fagiolini (early music ensemble)
Robert Hollingworth

Wilbye: Weep, weep, mine eyes

I Fagiolini (early music ensemble)
Robert Hollingworth

Wilbye: Flora gave me fairest flowers

I Fagiolini (early music ensemble)
Robert Hollingworth

Wilbye: All pleasure is of this condition

I Fagiolini (early music ensemble)
Robert Hollingworth

Wilbye: Of joys and pleasing pains

I Fagiolini (early music ensemble)
Robert Hollingworth

Wilbye: Where most my thoughts

I Fagiolini (early music ensemble)
Robert Hollingworth

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"British ensemble I Fagiolini puts aside its beloved Monteverdi to uncover its own national heritage: the best of John Wilbye's classic Golden Age madrigals. Whilst his oeuvre may have been small (just 75 works that we know of and most just a couple of minutes long), time and again, in these exquisite cameos, Wilbye delivers what might be reckoned the ultimate madrigal experience. The plangent dissonance of ‘Draw on, sweet night’ and ‘Weep, weep, mine eyes’ perfectly evoke English melancholy, while ‘Sweet honey-sucking bees’ and ‘Adieu, sweet Amaryllis’ are such sheer pleasure to sing that many listeners will scrabble to unearth old scores. This album is, in a nutshell, 75 minutes of madrigalian bliss! Rediscover or enjoy anew this central part of English choral culture, strangely out of fashion for so long, sung by a group that has matured into the repertoire like a good wine."

Reviews

July 2022

Wilbye was one of the finest English madrigalists, publishing around 75 madrigals in two collections in 1598 and 1609. I Fagiolini sing 25 of them here with a winning sweetness of tone and admirable care for text. It’s a welcome balm.

Sep/Oct 2022

Robert Hollingworth and I Fagiolini perform all these pieces with great delicacy and transparency…their sense of ensemble, is superb, and their intonation, sectional balances, and dynamic shadings spot on. One hopes that a sequel recording will result in the complete madrigals of Wilbye from this ensemble. Heartily recommended.

April 2022

What infectious fun these singers have with texts and textures alike throughout this marathon of madrigals by a master of the art - for starters, try ‘Sweet honey-sucking bees’, where the sibilance fizzes from voice to voice in a veritable masterclass of ensemble word-painting. They're just as impressive when Wilbye is in dour, Dowland-esque mode, the pure-toned sopranos lending a toothsome astringency to the title-track and 'Weep, weep, mine eyes'.

Schallplattenkritik Autumn 2022

it is hard to imagine that anyone will be able to replicate their feats of intimacy and expressivity, power, depth, and crystal-clear intonation any time soon.

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