Madrigal Series Book 1: Six English Madrigals for Double Bass Quartet

About the Madrigals

Recital Music’s Madrigal Series includes six books of pieces, each devoted to the composers of one country or region, newly arranged for double bass quartet by David Heyes and beginning with the English madrigal.

Madrigals transcribe beautifully for double bass quartet creating repertoire which is ideal for the concert hall, also as educational music to develop ensemble skills, or simply to play with friends in an informal setting. There are no dynamics included and each ensemble is encouraged to create their own unique interpretation, with and without the use of vibrato to produce a wealth of colours and timbres.

Book 1 features six composers from the English Madrigal School, mostly writing towards the end of the 16th-century and during the first decades of the 17th-century. This was a Golden Age for the madrigal in England, much of which remains in the choral and vocal repertoire to the present day.

The edition includes a score and four separate parts.

Table of Contents

1. William Byrd (1540-1623) - From Citheron the Warlike Boy is Fled

2. John Dowland (1563-1626) - Can She Excuse My Wrongs

3. John Ward (1590-1638) - A Satyr Once Did Run Away

4. Thomas Tallis (1505-1585) - Hear the Voice and Prayer

5. Thomas Weelkes (1576-1623) - Now Every Tree

6. John Wilbye (1574-1638) - Adieu, Sweet Amarillis