Thomas Tomkins: These Distracted Times
The political intrigue of the early 17th century culminated with the execution of Charles I in 1649 and the beginning of the Commonwealth led by the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell. Thomas Tomkins, the greatest composer of that age, wrote a pavan for ‘these distracted times’ shortly after the King’s execution. This CD provides a mixture of Tomkin’s church and chamber music that soothed troubled souls during these turbulent years. The recording was made in the chapel of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, where Cromwell was a student and where his severed head remains.
- Pavan I
- Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom
- Hear my prayer, O Lord
- The heavens declare
- Te Deum (The Fifth Service)
- A Fancy
- Jubilate (The Fifth Service)
- O Lord, how manifold
- Pavan VII
- I heard a voice from heaven
- Magnificat (The Fifth Service)
- Pavan ‘for these distracted times’
- Nunc dimittis (The Fifth Service)
- Pavan VIII
- Remember me, O Lord
- When David heard
- My help cometh from the Lord
Alamire records exclusively for Obsidian Records , a subsidiary of Classical Communication Ltd. The following sound files are low-resolution MP3s. For the full sound experience, please visit your local record shop, or download any of our titles from iTunes.
