Commemorating the quatercentenary of Chapel Royal composer Orlando Gibbons's death in 1625, The Choir of HM Chapel Royal, Hampton Court and The English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble join forces to present a programme that surveys the wide range of Gibbons's output. Featuring the entire Second Service, plus verse & full anthems alongside hymns, fantasias and dance tunes, this recording celebrates not only the composer's legacy but also the continuing historical unity in performance of voices and instruments at the Chapel Royal over several hundred years.

To mark the 400th anniversary of Orlando Gibbons's death, organist and harpsichordist Stephen Farr presents a stunning tribute to one of England's greatest composers of the early seventeenth century. Gibbons, who served at the Chapel Royal and Westminster Abbey, was celebrated for his virtuosity and innovation, bridging the Renaissance and Baroque eras. This album explores the full breadth of his keyboard oeuvre, from intricate fantasias and evocative pavans to lively dances and variation sets. The album includes the Fantasia for Double Organ, showcasing Gibbons's mastery of contrapuntal invention, and the poignant Pavan and Galliard Lord Salisbury, composed in honour of the composer's noble patron. Farr's insightful interpretations reveal the expressive depth and technical brilliance of Gibbons's music. A compelling homage, this recording underscores Gibbons's lasting influence on English keyboard music.

Orlando Gibbons was a genius. We can probably all agree that this term is massively anachronistic. However, justified, I think, in order to establish his music on the same elevated niveau as Purcell or Beethoven or Schubert. While it is difficult to make such analogies when his music is still relatively rarely performed by comparison with these more illustrious names, but Gibbons' fecundity of imagination, his masterly handling of his material, his emotional depth and maturity, the exquisite turns of phrase, his harmonic assurance, his contrapuntal ease and mastery - all this puts him in the first rank of composers - Richard Boothby. "My Days is a ritualised memory piece about Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625) written for two ensembles whose recordings informed so much of my musical development. I feel like I spend half of my life trying to trick string players to play like Fretwork, and vocalists to sing like the Hilliard Ensemble, so it was with enormous pleasure that I composed this piece." - Nico Muhly

GIBBONS: Consort and Keyboard Music / Songs and Anthems