A death in the family this week has me thinking about grief and how musicians in history handled it. Case in point: William Byrd’s magnificent ode to his friend and mentor Thomas Tallis.
Ye sacred muses (Elegy for Thomas Tallis - 1585)
by William Byrd
with Sonnambula: Shirley Hunt, Amy Domingues, Elizabeth Weinfield, and Colleen McGary-Smith
in conjunction with the Henry Purcell Society of Boston
recorded by Russ Anderson, T-Stop Productions
Live performance, October 2018