We’ve just got back from an inspiring four days of recording amongst the bats, peacocks, and ghosts of Kirby Hall, one of England’s most enchanting Elizabethan stately homes. With thanks to English Heritage and our generous supporters, and under the expert ears of recording team Nicholas Parker and Andrew Mellor, we brought the English sacred music of George Jeffreys (1610-1685) back to the place where he lived and worked for most of his life.
Jeffreys, briefly organist to Charles I, copied out reams of Italian music by the likes of Merula and Grandi, and the fact that his patron also had Gesualdo on the shelf may explain some of the extraordinary transalpine twists that infuse his style. Most like a mash-up of Purcell and Monteverdi, this is music that will shock and surprise, and we can’t wait to bring it to the shelves, and hopefully the concert platform, next year.
