{"title":"Matthew Locke","description":"\u003cp\u003e1621–1677. British composer. in the English Baroque tradition.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMatthew Locke was a leading English Baroque composer known for viol consort music and early English opera contributions. Modest catalog presence; frequently paired with Purcell and Handel in recordings.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSignature works:\u003c\/em\u003e The Little Consort of Three Parts, Consort of Four Parts, Music for His Majesty's Sagbutts and Cornetts, Psyche, Tempest Music.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"locke-consorts-flat-sharp-phantasm","title":"Locke: Consorts Flat \u0026 Sharp \/ Phantasm","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn this recording, the expert violists of Phantasm return to the unconventional yet brilliant polyphonist Matthew Locke. Under the guidance of Laurence Dreyfus, Phantasm presents the second half of Locke’s Little Consort, composed for treble, tenor and bass viol, and pairs it with three suites from the Flat Consort for my cousin Kemble whose unusual grouping comprises treble and two bass viols. Both sets are accompanied by a chordal bass instrument, in this instance the leading theorbo player Elizabeth Kenny. Locke’s experimental, not to say libertarian, impulse pervades the works, and yet the composer remains grounded in the traditional ethos of strict counterpoint, standing as one of the last champions of the once treasured great polyphonic tradition. More than 400 years later, his music remains as fresh as ever.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Linn Records","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012429598954,"sku":"691062073721","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4282252-3125592.jpg?v=1778199578"},{"product_id":"locke-the-little-consort-fretwork","title":"Locke: The Little Consort \/ Fretwork","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn November 2022 Fretwork return for the second instalment of their cycle of works by Matthew Locke. Matthew Locke was born 400 years ago in 1622, and while he is often ranked as one of England’s finest composers, he is still unaccountably neglected: his music may not be as immediately appealing as his immediate successor, Henry Purcell, nor as wide-ranging as William Byrd, yet his forceful musical personality and luxuriant technique place him in the first echelon of English composers, with his works described by Richard Boothby of Fretwork as having a “quixotic, capricious restlessness that is constantly challenging the listener to follow his argument ... a thrilling musical ride”. Accompanying Fretwork on continuo for this recording are David Miller (archlute and theorbo) and Silas Wollston (harpsichord). The cover of the album bares an inscription in the walls by the choir stall of Exeter Cathedral, thought to have been carved by the composer during his time as a member of the choir there.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eREVIEWS\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn most of the suites, Fretwork exploits the textural and percussive effects of the theorbo and harpsichord - both played with terrific flair - which articulate the all-pervasive dance rhythms. In the serene F major Suite No. 6, omitting the continuo highlights the sparse transparency of the three-part texture and Fretwork ‘play plain’ its interlaced melodies, weaving them into a sheer fabric of sound.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe players obviously relish these convivial musical conversations and the album makes for felicitous listening and, for the uninitiated, a perfect introduction to Locke’s viol consorts.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e-- BBC Music Magazine\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAn intriguing recording: on first playing, I found this album difficult to get into, an experience. However, with repeated listenings it did it start to reveal its true – and beautiful – self. These ‘Pavans, Ayres, Corants and Sarabands’ by Matthew Locke are strange things indeed. It is the strangely shifting, uncanny edge to Locke’s music that is his trademark – and Fretwork here transform it into something beguiling.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMost intriguing are the fleeting moments when Fretwork do not sound like a viol consort. Locke’s designation of the book as ‘for viols or violins’ acknowledges that the viol was soon to be usurped by the violin; here, Fretwork embody this historical juncture through a flexibility and agility of stroke.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e-- Gramophone\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Signum Classics","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012456009962,"sku":"635212072820","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4140966-2902857.jpg?v=1778207287"},{"product_id":"matthew-locke-the-flat-consort","title":"Locke: The Flat Consort \/ Fretwork","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eMatthew Locke was born 400 years ago in 1622, and while he is often ranked as one of England’s finest composers, he is still unaccountably neglected: his music may not be as immediately appealing as his immediate successor, Henry Purcell, nor as wide-ranging as William Byrd, yet his forceful musical personality and luxuriant technique place him in the first echelon of English composers, with his works described by Richard Boothby of Fretwork as having a \"quixotic, capricious restlessness that is constantly challenging the listener to follow his argument...a thrilling musical ride\".\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eAccompanying Fretwork on continuo for this recording are David Miller (archlute and theorbo) and Silas Wollston (harpsichord). The cover of the album bears an inscription in the walls by the choir stall of Exeter Cathedral, thought to have been carved by the composer during his time as a member of the choir there. In 2021, Fretwork celebrated its 35th anniversary. In the past three and a half decades they have explored the core repertory of great English consort music, from Taverner to Purcell, and made classic recordings against which others are judged. Their recent critically-praised releases with Signum include \u003cem\u003eIf\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eLamento\u003c\/em\u003e – both with countertenor Iestyn Davies – and \u003cem\u003eIn Nomine 2.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eREVIEWS\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFretwork captures the brooding quality of the minor-mode suites particularly well, and their sinewy playing points up Locke’s vigorous counterpoint and robust rhythms.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e-- BBC \u003cem\u003eMusic\u003c\/em\u003e Magazine\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe delicious way in which Locke’s fantazias – unlike those of Jenkins or Lawes – present a cornucopia of switches in tempo or affect is matched by Fretwork’s agility in moving from one colour and affect to the next.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e-- \u003cem\u003eGramophone\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Signum Classics","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012778578154,"sku":"635212069622","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4038088-2773980_9c483a1d-c39c-47fc-ab89-be7b9a35b6fa.jpg?v=1778241279"},{"product_id":"locke-the-broken-consort-part-1-wayward-74943","title":"Locke: The Broken Consort, Part 1 \/ Wayward Sisters","description":"Matthew Locke was Henry Purcell's direct predecessor at the English court and one of the best-known composers of mid-17th century England. Although this recording provides abundant examples of his harmonic genius, he remains less well-known than Purcell, whose melodic facility he lacked. This release by the U.S. group Wayward Sisters (which includes theorbist and honorary sister John Lenti) provides a reasonable place to start with his music: his compositions for \"broken consort,\" or a mixed group of strings and winds, were numerous, and this release, the first in a series, covers only a small proportion of them. The collection called Tripla Concordia that frames the Broken Consort suites includes longer sequences of brief dances but is otherwise cut from the same cloth. The medium allowed Locke to merge the older style of English polyphony with the \"concerted\" or contrast-based style coming in from abroad, and this is accomplished in any clever ways in these little dances. Wayward Sisters, although their name may see them miscategorized as an Americana band, understand the music and give it brisk, lightly sentimental performances in something of a French style. The suburban Toronto church where the music was recorded is congenial to it, and in general the music provides the same mix of sophistication and fun that it did 350 years ago for its royal patrons.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  -- All Music Guide\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46026114597098,"sku":"747313302079","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2521016.jpg?v=1778297093"},{"product_id":"locke-for-lovers-of-consort-music-phantasm-59798","title":"Locke: For Lovers of Consort Music \/ Phantasm","description":"\u003cp\u003ePhantasm adds to its critically-acclaimed repertory of English viol consort music with the first recording in what will be a series exploring the music of Matthew Locke. A turbulent musical personality, Locke has much to endear him to ‘lovers of consort music’; his ceaseless and obsessive quest for variety ensures music of maximum breadth and diversity. Director Laurence Dreyfus has created an intriguing programme that showcases Locke’s rule-bending approach featuring music that is in turn quirky and humorous, lyrical and sweet. Most excitingly, this release reunites the partnership of Phantasm and lutenist Elizabeth Kenny, whose last album together, Dowland: Lachrimae or Seven Tears, won both a Gramophone Award and a Diapason d’Or de l’Année. Locke’s part-writing, and the oftentimes orchestral dimension of his approach, are both highlighted by the opulent realization of the continuo part, devised here with supreme inventive powers by Kenny.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Linn Records","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46026236592362,"sku":"691062059428","price":20.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3825718_e347f58e-239c-4cf2-a2ed-1bc844773f0f.jpg?v=1778246224"},{"product_id":"locke-m-consorts-in-2-parts","title":"Locke, M.: Consorts in 2 Parts","description":"Locke, M.: Consorts in 2 Parts","brand":"Sono Luminus","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46026441261290,"sku":"053479030023","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/184366.jpg?v=1778187346"}],"url":"https:\/\/arkivmusic.com\/collections\/matthew-locke.oembed","provider":"ArkivMusic","version":"1.0","type":"link"}