Music for the 100 Years' War (2017)

performed by Binchois Consort, Dominic Bland (cantor), Dominic Bland (tenor), Dominic Bland (contratenor), George Pooley (tenor), James Hall (cantor), James Hall (treble), Matthew Vine (contratenor), Matthew Vine (tenor), Matthew Vine (cantor), Steven Harrold (tenor)
composed by Anonymous, Anonymous, English, Gregorian Chant, Johannes Alanus, John Dunstable, John Forest, Leonel Power, Plainchant

For the Binchois Consort's 2017 survey of late Medieval and early Renaissance music, the 100 Years' War provides a context to bring together anonymous motets and works by known composers of the period, such as Johannes Alanus, John Forest, Leonel Power, and John Dunstaple, as well as to connect their music to significant historical figures and events. Spanning the years from 1337 to 1457, and affecting England, France, and the Netherlands, the war was essentially a conflict between the Plantagenets and the Valois over the ... Read More

For the Binchois Consort's 2017 survey of late Medieval and early Renaissance music, the 100 Years' War provides a context to bring together anonymous motets and works by known composers of the period, such as Johannes Alanus, John Forest, Leonel Power, and John Dunstaple, as well as to connect their music to significant historical figures and events. Spanning the years from 1337 to 1457, and affecting England, France, and the Netherlands, the war was essentially a conflict between the Plantagenets and the Valois over the French throne, leading to the Battle of Agincourt, which is celebrated in the Agincourt Carol near the close of this album. But the bulk of the program concentrates on sacred music that, however it may be linked to royal and religious figures of the time, is perhaps of greatest significance to English listeners. The Binchois Consort, directed by Andrew Kirkman, has structured the album and the liner notes around saints Edmund the Martyr and Thomas Becket, who both predated the war,... Read Less