John Come Kiss Me Now. Virginal Music of William Byrd

Elizabethan England was a major musical innovation center in 16th-century, as evidenced by the rise of viol consort (foreshadowing chamber music) and the birth of an autonomous secular keyboard music. William Byrd was the main representative of the rich virginal school, leaving a weighty catalogue of an incredible diversity. Andreas Staier, a great specialist of this particular repertoire, once said he started studying harpsichord after hearing Byrd’s music. Here is a splendid collection of works, mostly from the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book and the Lady Nevells Booke.