Picture a scene of domestic bliss: it is 1544, and while Henry VIII is planning another battle with France, his sixth wife Catherine Parr is writing English words for an anthem rallying support. Was she mindful of the fact that the last wife who displeased Henry had her head lopped off? Parr’s text, calling down thunderbolts and whirlwinds on the enemy and set to music by Thomas Tallis that he adapted from an early version of his anthem Gaude Gloriosa, was bloodthirsty enough to please the king. Alamire’s all-Tallis disc is fascinating not only for this anthem, Se [sic] Lord and Behold – it was discovered by the choir’s director, David Skinner, two years ago – but also as a document of some of the earliest liturgical music set to English texts: church music as anti-French propaganda. Alamire’s clean-toned delivery makes every word speak, and Fretwork’s viol consort pieces set the choral works effectively in relief.
