Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Here is “This sweet and merry month of May” by William Byrd, from our album Wishing Tree. 🌳
🎧 Stream, spin, and discover: https://linktr.ee/TheGesualdoSix
*****
“This sweet and merry month of May” is one of the few pieces by William Byrd that might rightly be called a madrigal. Listen to how the composer portrays birds calling to one another, as if from branch to branch, with short, lively melismas, or how the ‘beasts do play’ through dancing syncopation. Of note, too, is the conventional praise of Elizabeth in the text, reflected here in a stretching of the harmonic pulse and a high tessitura for the upper voices, creating a sense of grandeur. [Owain Park © 2026]
*****
💿 Order your copy: thegesualdosix.co.uk/shop/wishing-tree-2026
Performed by The Gesualdo Six
Directed by Owain Park
Video by Alexander Barnes (@appleandbiscuit)
Audio by David Hinitt & Adrian Peacock for Hyperion Records
#ChoralMusic #Byrd #Renaissance
Here is “This sweet and merry month of May” by William Byrd, from our album Wishing Tree. 🌳
🎧 Stream, spin, and discover: https://linktr.ee/TheGesualdoSix
*****
“This sweet and merry month of May” is one of the few pieces by William Byrd that might rightly be called a madrigal. Listen to how the composer portrays birds calling to one another, as if from branch to branch, with short, lively melismas, or how the ‘beasts do play’ through dancing syncopation. Of note, too, is the conventional praise of Elizabeth in the text, reflected here in a stretching of the harmonic pulse and a high tessitura for the upper voices, creating a sense of grandeur. [Owain Park © 2026]
*****
💿 Order your copy: thegesualdosix.co.uk/shop/wishing-tree-2026
Performed by The Gesualdo Six
Directed by Owain Park
Video by Alexander Barnes (@appleandbiscuit)
Audio by David Hinitt & Adrian Peacock for Hyperion Records
#ChoralMusic #Byrd #Renaissance
