There are quite a number
of compositions in the 16th and 17th
century which refer to people. That
is certainly the case in English music
of around 1600, with titles like 'Lady
Nevell's Ground' or 'Lord Willoughby's
Welcome Home' were not untypical. It
is not always known which people these
titles refer to, but Lady Rich, whose
name appears in some pieces on this
disc, can easily be identified, as she
was quite a celebrity in her time. Lady
Penelope Rich (1563-1607) was described
by Thomas Campion as 'star of Britain'.
She was famous for her beauty and intellect,
as well as her artistic skills. A public
career was impossible for a woman in
those days, but since a large part of
artistic life took place in private
circles, she had ample opportunity to
display her capabilities.
But her life was also
tragic. Her biography could well be
typical for women from aristocratic
circles at that time. She was meant
to marry the poet Sir Philip Sidney,
but when her father died deeply in debt,
she was married off by her guardians
at 18 to Lord Robert Rich, an apparently
uncivilised man whom she didn't love,
and who didn't love her. She had five
children with him, but fell in love
with Charles Blount, later Lord Mountjoy.
One year and a half after the fifth
child of Robert and Penelope Rich had
been baptised, the first child of Penelope
and Charles Blount was born, the first
of the five they got together. Lord
Rich apparently tolerated the affair,
and it was widely accepted by her circle.
Things took an unhappy turn because
of political events in which Penelope's
brother, the Earl of Essex, was involved.
Mountjoy replaced him as English commander
in Ireland (which meant the couple was
separated for some years), and became
the Queen's favourite because of his
military success and was named Earl
of Devonshire. When he returned to England,
he and Penelope married after Lord Rich
had decided to get divorced. But as
their relationship was generally approved
of when Penelope was still married to
Lord Rich, after her remarriage Mountjoy
and Penelope were denigrated. Under
Elizabeth's successor James I remarriage
was forbidden, and the marriage was
declared illegitimate. As a result Lord
Mountjoy fell into melancholy, which
caused his death in 1606. All sorts
of unpleasant things happened after
his death, among others disputes about
his last will. Penelope died just one
year later.
This disc is devoted
to music which was directly associated
with her, as well as pieces which give
an idea of the musical world of which
she was part. Some pieces were directly
linked to Penelope, others can be connected
to her through the text, like Byrd's
madrigal 'Weeping full sore', which
ends with the lines: "This lady rich
is of the gifts of beauty, but unto
her are gifts of fortune dainty". The
pieces by the French composer Charles
Tessier, from his Premier Livre de Chansons,
published in London in 1597 and dedicated
to 'Madame Riche', and the anonymous
Spanish song 'Vuestros ojos', included
in Robert Dowland's 'A Musicall Banquet'
(1610), are a testimony to Penelope's
command of languages.
The disc concludes
with a very impressive and moving song
cycle by John Coprario, an English composer
who was strongly influenced by the Italian
style. The cycle was subtitled 'For
the death of the Right Honorable the
Earle of Devonshire', and prefaced with
a verse addressed to Penelope. Most
of the seven poems are for two high
voices, but in the last one a lower
voice enters, which refers to the late
Mountjoy living in heaven: "Forbear,
he lives ... in heav'n above". The cycle
also contains the poem 'In darkness
let me dwell', whose first stanza was
later used by Dowland. In the cycle
Penelope is compared with Ophelia, from
Shakespeare's play Hamlet. On this disc
this association has also been made
by the inclusion of two anonymous pieces
on texts from Hamlet (tracks 1 and 22).
The concept of this
disc is very interesting as it brings
the world of the Elizabethan era closer
to a present-day audience. It presents
the richness of that period in English
history, but it also shows the drawbacks:
the vulnerable position of women, the
political twists and turns which could
make the powerful fall into disfavour
in a wink and the ethical double standards.
Through the music it also demonstrates
how the arts were used to make statements.
The programme has been
well put together, with a nice mixture
of vocal and instrumental pieces. Emily
Van Evera has a very suitable voice
for this kind of repertoire, and uses
it well. Her diction is admirable, and
makes the songs easy to understand.
The other singers and the instrumentalists
are on the same level. The strong and
powerful sound of the viols contrasts
nicely with the intimacy of the lute
playing.
I have to take issue
with a couple of things, though. First
of all, I find it deplorable that in
recordings like this English (and French)
texts are sung in modern pronunciation.
As a result in some poems words don't
rhyme, although they are supposed to.
Furthermore, as much
as I appreciate Emily Van Evera's performances,
sometimes there is a little lack of
sophistication: in Bartlet's song 'The
thrush did pipe full clear' more could
have been made of the imitation of birds.
I also would have liked to hear some
of the other singers as soloists, just
for the sake of variety. Lastly, there
is the balance between the singers:
Ms Van Evera tends to dominate in the
ensemble pieces. In Coprario's 'Funeral
Teares' the balance between Emily Van
Evera and Caroline Trevor is less than
ideal.
The booklet which accompanies
this disc is outstanding: it contains
a very informative essay about the life
and times of Penelope Rich, as well
as notes on the music performed. And
all lyrics have been printed, with French
and German translations. That's the
way to do it.
Johan van Veen
Emily Van Evera, soprano, recorder; Caroline
Trevor, contralto; Daniel Norman, John Potter,
tenor; Michael Dore, bass; Richard Campbell, Susanna
Pell, Reiko Ichise, Asako Morikawa, Susanne Heinrich,
viola da gamba; Christopher Mororngiello, lute;
Lynda Sayce, bass lute, bandora; Jacob Heringman,
cittern; Lucy Carolan, virginals 
