AF1605

The ThirteenMatthew Robertson

VOICEETERNAL

Matthew Robertson

Robin Bier, contraltoEric Brenner, countertenorJeffrey Paul Cutts, tenor*

Allie Faulkner, sopranoMadeline Apple Healey, soprano

Sarah Holland, sopranoBrian Mummert, baritone

Jacob Perry, tenorSuranjan Sen, tenor

Timothy Smith, tenorPeter Walker, bass

Jackson Williams, baritone

*Assistant Conductor

1. Stella caeli Walter Lambe (1450/1 - c.1499 or c. 1504) 6:22

2. I love, loved Robert Fayrfax (1464-1521) 2:05

3. Ah Robin, gentle Robin William Cornysh, Jr. (d. 1523) 2:26

4. Hélas Madame King Henry VIII (1491-1547) 2:32

5. Salve intemerata Thomas Tallis (c. 1505-1585) 16:40

6. If ye love me T. Tallis 2:00

7. Vox patris caelestis William Mundy (c. 1529-1591) 17:48

8. Sweet heart arise Thomas Weelkes (1576-1623) 1:33

9. Quam pulchra es King Henry VIII 5:47

10. Fair Phyllis I saw John Farmer (c. 1570 - c. 1601) 1:55

Total Playing Time: 59:26

The ThirteenMatthew Robertson, Artistic Director

Recorded in Bradley Hills Presbyterian Church, Bethesda, MD, USA.

Producers: Derrick Goff and Sam Ward

Recording, Editing and Mastering: Sam Ward

Graphic Design: Jana DeWitt

VOICEETERNAL

The Thirteen

Described as having“a tight and attractivevocal blend andexcellent choraldiscipline”(AmericanRecord Guide), TheThirteen is an all-starprofessional choirknown for inspiredand powerful liveperformance. Sinceits founding in 2012, the choir has beenat the forefront of bringing invigoratingperformances to the American choralcommunity in repertoire ranging fromthe Renaissance to the Romantic, fromBach to Bruckner; and from Gregorianchant to the world premieres of newAmerican composers.

The Thirteen draws its artists fromamong the finest ensembles in theworld, including Chanticleer, SeraphicFire, Apollo’s Fire, Conspirare, IFagiolini, Opera Philadelphia, BostonEarly Music Festival and Trinity WallStreet. The choir’s peerless singers arebest described by National Public Radiocommentator M.D. Ridge: “to talkabout the remarkable abilities andsound of the individual singers would...be like trying to say which whitecapson the ocean reflect the sun mostbeautifully, or which leaves on a treedance most gracefully with the wind... Istand in awe.”

The Thirteen’s growing discographyincludes the critically-acclaimedChristmas album “Snow onSnow,”“RADIANT DARK,” whichfeatures the finest works of the late

Tudor period and reached #28 on theiTunes Classical Charts, as well as TheThirteen’s debut recording “...to St.Cecilia” which was submitted for aGrammy® award.

In past seasons, The Thirteen hasperformed and been in residency at YaleUniversity, Bowling Green StateUniversity, Eastern Illinois University, theUniversity of Central Oklahoma, TheUniversity of York, The University ofTampa, Virginia Wesleyan University, St.Ambrose University, Southern IllinoisUniversity – Carbondale, GuilfordCollege, as well as concerts throughoutthe United States.

The Thirteen is committed to educatingand inspiring the next generation ofmusicians, and frequently coachesstudents at the high school andcollegiate levels in masterclass,workshop and collaborativeperformance sessions.

For more information about TheThirteen, please visitwww.TheThirteenChoir.org.

Matthew Robertson

Matthew Robertson, praised forhis “sensitive and nuanced”conducting, is noted as thedriving force behind the all-starprofessional choir, The Thirteen.As Founder and Artistic Directorof The Thirteen, he hasconducted the ensemblethroughout the United Statesand on multiple recordings.

Robertson’s 2015-2016 season with TheThirteen saw the release of a newEnglish-language Christmas CD, “Snowon Snow,” residencies at Eastern IllinoisUniversity, the University of CentralOklahoma, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, and St. Ambrose Universityin Davenport, Iowa, and performancesthroughout the mid-Atlantic and NewEngland. Highlights of his 2015-2016season included performances ofMozart’s Requiem, Byrd’s Mass for FourVoices, Handel’s Messiah, portions ofJ.S. Bach’s B Minor Mass and Schütz’sMusicalisches Exequien andcollaborations with many of the finestmusicians of his generation, includingmembers of the National SymphonyOrchestra, Seraphic Fire, Apollo’s Fire,Trinity Wall Street, Conspirare, OperaPhiladelphia, Washington NationalOpera, and more.From 2010-2012 Robertson served asAssistant Conductor for theWestminster Symphonic Choir,conducting the choir in performanceand assisting in preparation forconcerts with the New YorkPhilharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestraand the New Jersey SymphonyOrchestra, for such conductors as

Yannick Neget-Seguin,Peter Schreier, AlanGilbert and JacquesLacombe.

Mr. Robertson was theRobert P. FountainScholar at the OberlinConservatory of Music,earning a degree inOrgan Performance.While at the OberlinConservatory he

conducted the Oberlin College Choir,College Singers, Musical Union,Conservatory Orchestra and ChamberOrchestra. In 2008, Mr. Robertsonfounded and conducted the OberlinBach Society – an elite group ofinstrumentalists and singers whoperformed the music of Bach and hiscontemporaries throughout Ohio. InJanuary 2007 and 2009, he served asMusic Director of the Oberlin WinterTerm Orchestra and Choir, performingfull-length choral-orchestral concerts.

Robertson received his M.Mus. inconducting from Westminster ChoirCollege where he studied with AndrewMegill and Joe Miller. He has alsoworked with such luminary conductorsas Norman Scribner, Stan Engebretson,Robert Spano, Joseph Flummerfelt,Gary Graden and JoAnn Falletta.

A Washington, DC native, Robertsonserves as Director of Music at BradleyHills Church, in Bethesda, MD.Additionally active as an organist, Mr.Robertson has performed throughout theUnited States and in Western Europe.

Immortal Legacy: Tudor Giants

A program of music by Tudor-era composersinevitably transforms into a journey throughthe drastic liturgical and musical changes ofthe English Reformation. During the reign ofHenry VII, English choral music reached apeak of virtuosity and extravagance in therich, florid and large-scale polyphonic worksby composers like Lambe, Fayrfax, Mundyand Cornysh, preserved in late fifteenth-century and early sixteenth-centurymanuscripts like the iconic Eton Choirbook.The style of these works would shortly comeunder heavy scrutiny, however: in November1534, the Act of Supremacy recognizedHenry VIII as “the only supreme head in earthof the Church of England.” The followingyear, Henry authorized Vicar-General ThomasCromwell and Archbishop of CanterburyThomas Cranmer to develop a new system ofpolicies for the Church of England, and a yearafter that began the process of disbandingmonasteries, convents and friaries,significantly reorganizing the hierarchiesunder which musicians operated, andresulting in the loss of countless musicmanuscripts (the Eton Choirbook was one ofthe rare collections of Latin sacred music tosurvive the process). Thus began a period ofpolitical and religious upheaval that wouldhave far-reaching consequences for thetrajectory of English music through theremainder of the Tudor dynasty.

Walter Lambe was one of the majorcontributors to the Eton Choirbook, andacknowledged during his lifetime as a masterof the florid early Tudor style. His antiphonStella caeli stands out amongst the EtonChoirbook’s array of Magnificats, SalveReginas and other marian antiphons for itsintriguing and vivid text: a fifteenth-centuryhymn begging Mary for divine relief from theplague. Lambe’s appointment to the choir St.George’s Chapel in 1479 took place as aresult of several members of the chapelhaving died of the plague during the summer,and it may be that Lambe composed his

Stella caeli around this time. Though scoredfor only four voices, the piece is otherwisecharacteristic of the Eton sound world and ofLambe’s other works. Structured in twoparts, the first in triple time and the second induple, the intricate polyphony elevates and,to our modern ears, obscures the corporealhumanity of the message.

The Tudor court was a significant musicalinstitution, especially after the monasterieswere dissolved and no longer supportedmusic programs of their own. King HenryVIII was himself a well- educated and skilledamateur musician, who sang, composed,and played the lute, organ and virginals.Under his reign the court employedincreasingly large numbers of musicians andthe most important composers, and hispatronage and personal interest helped tocultivate the development of the secularpartsong. Two important early Tudorsongbooks, the Fayrfax Manuscript (c1500)and the Henry VIII Manuscript (c1518), haveclose connections with the court, andfeature the work of composers ranging fromRobert Fayrfax and William Cornysh, Jr. (d.1523) to King Henry VIII himself. RobertFayrfax is broadly represented in both EtonChoirbook and the Fayrfax Manuscript, andrecords show that he had a strong presenceat court, he served as a lay clerk in the royalhousehold chapel: singing for Henry VIII’scoronation, and gifting books of anthemsand songs to the king upon severaloccasions. His three-voice partsong I love,loved presents a striking conjunction ofsyllabic and melismatic textures: thehomophonic setting of the opening of eachstanza allows the English words to speakclearly, even as the luxurious polyphonicflourishes on the words “assurance,”“dance,” and “I” suggest the moreextravagant style of Fayrfax’s sacred works.In marked contrast to this song is WilliamCornysh Jr.’s simple and well-loved canonAh Robin, gentle Robin, from the HenryVIII manuscript. Cornysh was a leading courtmusician during the first half of Henry VIII’s

reign, where he played a versatile role as apoet, dramatist, actor and composer. Sometwenty partsongs and several works forviols by Henry VIII are preserved in theHenry VIII manuscript, alongside an isolatedsacred motet from the Baldwin Manuscript(the graceful and elaborate three-voiceQuam pulcra es, which will be heard lateron the CD). Together these pieces attest toHenry VIII’s legacy as a composer who waseducated in a variety of styles and took aninterest in developments in continentalmusic as well as at home. The Frenchpartsong Hélas Madame is believed to datefrom the king’s youth; the tenor melody iscontinental in origin, harmonized andembellished by three additional voices ofHenry’s devising, and the parallel sixthmotion between the top voice and themelody would remain a characteristic of hisstyle in later works.

Perhaps more so than any other Tudorcomposer, the music of Thomas Tallisencompasses the full breadth of genres andstyles that spanned the Reformation. Thevotive antiphon Salve intemerata is one ofhis earliest surviving works, dating to HenryVIII’s pre-reformation years. Setting a ramblingLatin devotion to Mary, this work evokes theglories of the late fifteenth century through itsgrand scale, archaic structure and thedistinctly medieval sound world of thePhrygian mode. Like Lambe’s Stella caeli,Salve intemerata is structured in two parts,the first in triple meter and the second induple. Reformers like Cromwell and Cranmerwould speak out strongly against the votiveantiphon as a textual and musical form, andTallis’s work helps us to understand why; thelong lines, ambiguous text underlay, and sheerscale of the work make Salve intemerata asensual aural experience in which immediacyof textual meaning at the level of the wordand syllable gives way to the perception oflarger musical paragraphs. Even so, contrastsbetween the five-voice tutti sections andmore transparent passages for two and threevoices do highlight certain moments in the

text: most striking amongst these is Tallis’ssetting of the final section of the text,beginning with the words “Secundumhumanitatem autem ex te natum.” Theseunfold serenely in the soprano and alto voices,marking the start of a slow and inexorablebuildup of texture and intensity toward thefinal Amen. Tallis would not have recourse tocompose such music again until Mary Irestored the Catholic rite in the 1550s.

Perhaps the element of the Reformationwith the most significant impact uponcompositional style was the desire to makethe liturgy more intelligible to the laity, whichprovoked a move toward increased use ofthe vernacular and increasingly syllabic textsetting. In response to complex polyphonicLatin works like Tallis’s Salve intemerata,Archbishop Cranmer urged compositionalreform wherein “the song that shall bemade thereunto would not be full of notes,but, as near as may be, for every syllable anote; so that it may be sung distinctly anddevoutly…” Tallis’s four-voice anthem If yelove me, dating to 1547-8, is one of theearliest pieces composed for the newAnglican liturgy. ABB form, English words,and largely homophonic texture (with onlybrief moments of restrained imitation) makeit a quintessential manifestation of the cleartext-setting and unelaborate style desired byCranmer and other reformers.

William Mundy was a highly regardedcomposer of the Chapel Royal, though hemay have found himself somewhat eclipsedtoward the end of his career by the up andcoming William Byrd. Robert Dowhumorously hinted at this in an inscription inthe Tenor book of the Dow Partbooks, whichtakes the form of a pun styling Mundy as themoon to Byrd’s sun: “Dies lunae / Ut lucemsolis sequitur lux proxima lunae / Sic tu postBirdum Munde secunde venis” (Monday / Asthe moon’s light follows next after the sun’slight / So you, Mundy, come second afterByrd.) Whatever Dow and others thought,Mundy’s large-scale Marian antiphon Vox

patris caelestis is a true masterpiece.Mundy composed the piece during the reignof Queen Mary (1553-1558), a brief windowof opportunity when it was permissible to setLatin texts in the grand, melismatic earlyTudor style. The text is a fascinatingadaptation of the Song of Songs, placingthose sensual expressions of love in themouth of God the Father speaking to Maryas the mother of his son. Mundy uses thetraditional structural devices of two halves intriple/duple meter and alternations betweentutti and reduced scoring to articulate thedifferent sections of text, nowhere morespectacularly than at the words “Veni ad me,Assuerum verum, Esther, mea nobilissima,pro populo tuo oratura mecum in aeternummanere et delectare” (Come, my Esther, toour true Ahasuerus, to pray, my most high-born, for your people, and ever to stay andtake your delight with me.) Here, Mundyemploys a gimel (a fifteenth- and sixteenth-century compositional device of temporarilydividing a given vocal part into additionalparts of equal range), splitting the treble,mean and bass parts to yield a new andshimmering six-voice texture with aconcentration of high voices underpinned bythe richness of two basses.

Decades after the flourishing of the earlyTudor partsong in the court of Henry VIII, theend of the sixteenth century saw the rise ofa new direction in English secular music,heavily influenced by the Italians. MusicaTransalpina, the first printed collection ofItalian madrigals with English words, waspublished in 1588, bringing Englishcomposers and patrons into contact with theworks of Marenzio, Palestrina, Lassus andothers to lasting effect. A second volume ofMusica Transalpina would appear in 1597,and in 1601 Thomas Morley would supervisethe compilation of a collection of Englishmadrigals in honor of Henry VIII’s daughterElizabeth I, containing madrigals by Gibbons,Tomkins, Cavendish, Morley, Pilkington,Farmer, Byrd and many more; England wasthoroughly enchanted with the Italian

madrigal and was making it her own. It wasduring this transitional time that ThomasWeelkes and John Farmer underwent theirmusical education and began careers. WhileWeelkes would make major contributions tothe corpus of anthems and services for theAnglican church, he is best remembered asa gifted madrigalist, publishing his first bookof madrigals in 1597, and contributing to TheTriumphs of Oriana. Weelkes’ madrigalSweet heart arise comes from his secondmajor published collection, Balletts andMadrigals to Five Voyces, with One to 6.Voyces (London, 1598). In five parts withdouble soprano, with a pastoral theme oflove against a backdrop of bird song, it is anarchetypal English madrigal, lacking only afew fa la la’s to complete the model.Weelkes’ text painting is fairly subtle, mostapparent in the rising figure of the word“arise,” and the triple meter delineating thephrase “then join we hands and dance tilnight.” John Farmer’s Fair Phyllis I sawexhibits more overt examples of textpainting: the soprano voice alone launchesthe madrigal’s first line “Fair Phyllis I sawsitting all alone,” all voices leap upwards anddescend in canon to illustrate “up and downshe wandered,” and “O, then they fell a-kissing” is set to a flirtatious triple meter. Inboth Sweet heart arise and Fair Phyllis I saw,the imitative interaction of the individualvoices recalls the complexity of pre-Reformation sacred works, even if the styleand shaping of the lines is very different;madrigals were not subject to the samepolitical and religious expectations for textualclarity as works for the church. Madrigalswere furthermore conceived as social musicfor the pleasure of the singer. In this context,madrigalisms, imitation and other clevermusical complexities engaged the ear, mindand eye alike, enhancing the participants’understanding and enjoyment of the words.

Liner notes by Robin Bier, © 2016.

Texts and Translations

Stella caeli

Stella caeli exstirpavit quae lactavit DominumMortis pestem quam plantavit primus parens hominum.Ipsa stella nunc dignetur sidera compescere,Quorum bella plebem caedunt dirae mortis ulcere.

O gloriosa stella maris,a peste succurre nobis:Audi nos, nam te filius nihil negans honorat.Salva nos, Jesu! Pro quibus virgo mater te orat.

I love, loved

I love, loved, and loved would I beIn steadfast faith and truth with assurance;Then bounden were I such one faithfullyTo love, though I do fear to trace that dance,Lest that misadventure might fall by chance;Yet will I my trust to fortune apply;How that ever it will hap I wot ne’er I.

Ah Robin, gentle Robin

Ah, Robin, gentle, Robin,Tell me how thy leman doth and thou shalt know of mine.My lady is unkind I wis,Alack why is she so?She lov'th another better than me,and yet she will say no.

Ah, Robin, gentle, Robin,Tell me how thy leman doth and thou shalt know of mine.I cannot think such doubleness for I find women true,In faith my lady lov'th me well she will change for no new.

Ah, Robin, gentle, Robin,Tell me how thy leman doth and thou shalt know of mine.

The star of heaven who suckled the Lordhas rooted out the plague of death which the first parent of men planted.May that very star now deign to restrain the constellationsWhose wars kill the people with the sore of terrible death.

O glorious star of the sea, save us from the plague.Hear us, for your Son honours thee, refusing thee nothing.Save us, Jesus, on whose behalf the virgin mother beseeches thee.

Hélas Madame

Hélas madame, celle que j’ayme tant: souffrez que soye vostre humble servant; vostre humble servant je seray a toujours et tant que je viv’ray ault’ n’aymeray que vous.

Hélas, beau sire, vous estez bel et bon, Sage et courtoys et de noble maison. Et aussi bon que l’on scairoit finer, mais cil que j’ayme, ne scairoye oublier,

Hélas, madame, pences en vostre cas: entre nous deulx ne fault point d’avocatz: certes non pas, et vous le scavez bien. Allez vous en, car vous ne faictez rien.

Mon coeur souspire et se plaint tendrement, quant il ne peult trouver allegement. Ne scay comment on me veult dechasser; s’il est ainsi, j’ayray ailleurs chasser.

Hélas, madame, et n’en seray-je point? Certes beau sire, je ne le vous dis point. Servez a point: il vous sera mery. Hélas madame, de bon coeur vous mercy.

Salve intemerata

Salve intemerata virgo Maria,filii dei genitrix,pre ceteris electa virginibus,que ex utero tue Maris,Anne mulieris sanctissime,sic a spiritu sancto tum sanctificata tum illuminata fuisti,munitaque tantopere dei omnipotentis gratia,ut usque ad conceptum filii tui,domini nostri Jesu christi,et dum eum conciperes, ac usque ad partum,et dum eum pareres, semperque post partum virgo omnium que nate sunt castissima,incorruptissima et immaculatissima et corpore et animo tota vita permanseris.

Tu nimirum universas alias longe superasti virgines sincera mentis impollute conscientia, quotquot vel adhuc fuerunt ab ipso mundi primordio,vel unquam future sunt usque in finem mundi.

Per hec nos precellentissima gratie

celestis dona tibi,virgo et mater Maria,pre ceteris omnibus mulieribus et virginibus a deo singulariter infusa:te precamur, que miseris mortalibus misericors patrona es,ut pro peccatis nostris condonandis intercedere digneris apud deum patrem omnipotentem,ejusque filium Jesum christum,secundum divinitatem quidem ex patre ante omnia secula genitum, secundum humanitatem autem ex te natumatque apud spiritum sanctum:ut, peccatorum nostrorummaculis tua abstersis intercessione,tecum, sancta virgo, semper congaudere,teque in regno celorum sine fine laudare mereamus.Amen.

If ye love me

If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another comforter,that he may 'bide with you forever; E'en the spirit of truth.

Vox Patris caelestis

Vox Patris caelestisad sacram virginem Mariam,Filii eius genitricem,in eius migratione a corpore mortaliin hiis verbis prorumpens:‘Tota pulchra es, amica mea,mihi amabilissima Annae prolis,virgo sacratissima Mariaet macula ab ineunteconceptionis tuae instantivel usquam non est in te.

Favus distillans labia tuaex corde purissimo verba miradulcedinis spiritualis gratia.Iam enim hiemis terreni frigoriset miseria transiit: flores aeternaefelicitates et salutis mecum tibiab aeterna praeparateolfacere et sentire apparuerunt.

Alas, my lady, whom I love so, let me be your humble servant; your humble servant I shall always be, and for as long as I live, I will love only you.

Alas, gentle sir, you are beautiful and handsome; wise, well-mannered, and from a noble house, and so favored that one could not find better, but the one I done, I cannot forget.

(He) Alas, my lady, consider your plight: between us two, you need no other to speak. (She) Certainly not, as you well know. So go away sir, for you will accomplish nothing.

(He) My Heart sighs and complains tenderly, for it finds no relief. I know not how I have been shunned. If this be so, I must chase elsewhere.

[And so] Alas, my lady, am I without all hope? Certainly, good sir, I did not mean that. Serve well and you will be rewarded. Alas, my lady, with all my heart I thank you.

Hail, O chaste maiden Mary,mother of the Son of God,chosen before other maidens,who from the womb of your mother,the most holy woman Anne,were thus by the Holy Spirit both sanctified and enlightened,and very greatly strengthened by the grace of almighty God,so that up to the conception of your son, our Lord Jesus Christ,and while you conceived him,and until the birth, and while you brought him forth, and ever after the birth,you remained in body and soul, for your whole life, the most chaste, incorrupt and unblemished maiden of all.

You incontestably far surpassed in true innocence of mental purity all other maidens,both those who had been here since the very beginning of the worldand those who shall be until the ending of the world.

On account of these most excellent gifts

of heavenly grace given to you,O maiden and mother Mary,uniquely instilled by God in preference to all other women and maidens,we beg you, who are the merciful protector of wretched mortals,that you will deign to intercede for the forgiveness of our sins before God the almighty father and his son Jesus Christ (who in his divinity was born of the father before all worldsAnd in his humanity was born of you),And before the Holy Spirit:so that, the stains of our sins having been washed away by your intercession,We may deserve to rejoice with you and sing praises without end in the kingdom of heaven.Amen.

The voice of the heavenly Fatherto the holy Virgin Mary,the mother of his Son,as she was translated from her mortal bodybroke forth in these words:‘All lovely are you, my love,my dearest child of Anna,most sacred of virgins, Mary,and from the very moment of your conceptionneither now or everhas any stain been found in you.

Your lips are a honeycomb,distilling from your most pure heart wordswonderful in spiritual sweetness.Lo, now the winter of earthly coldand wretchedness is past; flowers of eternal blissand happiness which have awaited you heardwith me from everlasting now appear,beautiful of sight and scent.

Vineae florentes odorem caelestisambrosianae dulcedinis dederunt;et vox turturisquae mea tui dilectissimi amatorissola est exoptatio te amplecti,audita est in terra nostra tali sonante gratia.

Surge, propera, amica mea,columba mea, formosa mea,de terra longinqua miseriis plena,et veni in terram quam monstravero tibi.

Veni de corpore mortali,et induante, mea corcula,vestitu deaurato circumdatavarietate caelestis gloriae.

Veni ad me, dilectissimum amatorem tuum,prae omnibus adamata,et ponam in te thronum meumquia concupivi speciem tuam.

Veni de Libano monte mundano quaquamaltissimo humanae contemplationis,ad monte Sion,ubi innocentes manibuset corde ascendere deberent.

Veni ad me, Assuerum verum,Esther, mea nobilissima,pro populo tuo oraturamecum in aeternum manere et delectare.

Te omnes caeli cives summo,desiderio exoptant videre.Veni, veni, veni:caelesti gloria coronaberis.’Amen.

Sweet heart arise

Sweet heart arise, why do you sleep? When lovers wanton sports do keep, The Sun doth shine, the birds do sing and May delight and joy doth bring. Then join we hands and dance till night, 'Tis pity love should want his right.

Quam pulchra es

Quam pulchra es et quam decora, carissima, in deliciis!Statura tua assimilata est palmae et ubera tua botris.Caput tuum ut carmeluscollum tuum sicut turris eburnea.

Veni dilecte mi; egrediamur in agrumVideamus si flores fructus parturiunt, si floruerunt mala punica. Ibi dabo tibi ubera mea.

Fair Phyllis I saw

Fair Phyllis I saw sitting all aloneFeeding her flock near to the mountain side.The shepherds knew not,they knew not whither she was gone,But after her lover Amyntas hied,Up and down he wanderedwhilst she was missing;When he found her,O then they fell a-kissing.

The fruitful vines give their perfumeof ambrosia, heavenly in sweetness,and the voice of the turtle dove,the song of your dearest lover’sonly desire to embrace you,is heard in our land with graceful notes.

Arise, haste, my beloved,my dove, my fair one, from that far landfull of sorrow, and come to this landwhich I will show to you.

Come forth from your mortal body,and clothed, my dear-heartin various raiments of gold,surrounded by heavenly glory.

Come to me, your most dear lover,for I have loved you above all others,and I will bestow upon you my kingdom,for I have long desired your beauty.

Come from that earthly Mount Lebanon,however lofty, of human contemplation,to Mount Sion,wither the pure of handand heart must ever ascend.

Come to me, your true Ahasuerus,Esther, my most high-born,to pray for your people and ever to stayand take your delight with me.

All the host of heaven with great desireare longing to look upon you;Come, come, comeand be crowned with heavenly glory.’Amen.

How beautiful and fair you are, my beloved,most sweet in your delights.Your stature is a palm-tree,and your breasts are fruit.Your head is Mount Carmeland your neck is a tower of ivory.

Come, my beloved, let us go into the fieldsand see if the blossoms have born fruit,and if the pomegranates have flowered.There will I give my breasts to you.

For further information about recordings, performances, tours oreducation appearances, please visit www.TheThirteenChoir.org.

Recorded in Bradley Hills Presbyterian Church, Bethesda, MD, USA.Made in USA.

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� & � 2016 AFFETTO RecordingsAffetto Recordings, LLC61 Nassau Street, Princeton NJ 08542 USA

The ThirteenMatthew Robertson

VOICEETERNAL

1. Stella caeli Walter Lambe (1450/1 - c.1499 or c. 1504) 6:22

2. I love, loved Robert Fayrfax (1464-1521) 2:05

3. Ah Robin, gentle Robin William Cornysh, Jr. (d. 1523) 2:26

4. Hélas Madame King Henry VIII (1491-1547) 2:32

5. Salve intemerata Thomas Tallis (c. 1505-1585) 16:40

6. If ye love me T. Tallis 2:00

7. Vox patris caelestis William Mundy (c. 1529-1591) 17:48

8. Sweet heart arise Thomas Weelkes (1576-1623) 1:33

9. Quam pulchra es King Henry VIII 5:47

10. Fair Phyllis I saw John Farmer (c. 1570 - c. 1601) 1:55

Total Playing Time: 59:26