Work

William Byrd

William Byrd Composer

Hugh Aston's Ground, MB20

Performances: 2
Tracks: 1
MIDIs: 1
Loading...
Musicology:
  • Hugh Aston's Ground, MB20
    Genre: Other Keyboard
    Pr. Instrument: Keyboard

High Aston's Ground is a set of grounds for keyboard by the renaissance English composer, William Byrd (1543-1623). A three-part consort work entitled Hugh Aston's Masque, probably provides the source for the ground, or bass of Byrd's work, and, therefore, also the name. There are twelve grounds in the set

Byrd's work is an unusually dissonant work utilising sevenths and ninths as accented passing notes as well as other unorthodox intervals. This dissonance forms a part of the overall harmonic language of the work, showing Byrd's skill in creating a unique musical feel. This is most apparent in variations one, two and seven.

Several parallels may be drawn between this work and Byrd's earlier ground on The Hunt's Up, an altogether less impressive work. The shortcomings of the earlier work apparently haunted Byrd, and Hugh Aston's Ground may be, in part, an attempt to rework some of the failures of the earlier piece. If so, it succeeds in its aim. Hugh Aston's Ground is a very solid piece of writing.

© All Music Guide


Portions of Content Provided by All Music Guide.
© 2008 All Media Guide, LLC. All Music Guide is a registered trademark of All Media Guide, LLC.
AMG
Select a performer for this work
Loading...
 
© 1994-2009 Classical Archives LLC — The Ultimate Classical Music Destination ™