Celebrating Carnegie UK Trust's Tudor Church Music series

If you have ever sung any English Renaissance sacred music, then have you ever wondered how the music came into the public domain? In the early years of the 20th century, much of the repertoire remained in the collections of cathedrals and libraries and it was due to a pioneering collection produced under the auspices of the Carnegie UK Trust that this repertoire was made more generally available. 

The Carnegie UK Trust is 100 this year and as part of the celebrations the vocal ensemble Stile Antico is releasing a CD, Phoenix Rising, which celebrates the trust's inauguration of the Tudor Church Music edition in 1922.  The music of the CD is drawn from the ten volumes of the Tudor Church Music edition and includes music by Taverner, Tallis and Gibbons as well as Byrd's Five part mass.

The trust was set up for 'the improvement of the well-being of the masses of the people of Great Britain and Ireland' and music was one of its interests and included not only the Tudor Church Music edition but the publication of contemporary British music in the 1920's. R.R. Terry, Organist of Westminster Cathedral, was appointed the first editor and the first volume came out in 1923 devoted to the music of William Byrd.

Stile Antico are not only releasing a Cd but will be taking the music on tour to St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh (21/8), Lammermuir Festival, Musselburgh (15/9), Cadogan Hall, London (19/11), Cardiff University (20/11), Christchurch Cathedral, Dublin (29/11). The same repertoire will also be the subject of a summer school which Stile Antico are running at Dartington (4-9/8/2013).

Further information from the Stile Antico website and the Carnegie UK Trust website.