William Byrd Ave verum corpus: a musical analysis. Dr Nick Redfern

Music Through the Microscope Book 8 Kindle Edition

This work is a highly detailed analysis of one of the most remarkable choral works of the late Renaissance. Ave verum corpus by William Byrd is a devoutly conceived, deftly sculpted and masterfully realised setting of the most dramatic and prayerful Latin text. Byrd sets the words within a musical discourse which is at times artfully simple and sparing, but also extraordinarily complex and dissonant.

This book is in two distinct versions. One is illustrated by animated scores which are embedded within the text, which makes this edition decidedly distinct and original. These illustrations are also available online for the volume in standard edition and on YouTube. The audio file for these illustrations has been made possible by Steve Smith and Gimell Records, sung by the magnificent Tallis Scholars, directed by Peter Phillips. Without their generosity, kindness and cooperation the completion of this book would not be possible. This study is not a critique of the composer and does not seek to explore the cultural, contextual or historical aspects of the music.

This book is available exclusively at Amazon Kindle. Video edition.         Standard edition.

Download illustrations.        Download Score 1.        Download score 2.        Download score 3.

Ave verum corpus illustrations YouTube