Pianist and composer Kit Armstrong steps back in time to revive the spirit of the early English composers William Byrd and John Bull in his Deutsche Grammophon debut recording. In the notes that accompany the double album, Armstrong discusses the composers’ immeasurable contribution to keyboard music, their contrasting means of expression, and his own approach to performing sixteenth-century repertoire on a modern instrument. He sees Byrd as having been inspired by the “great eternal world” rather than his inner self, whereas the dramatic emotional range of Bull’s music reflects the twists and turns of an equally dramatic life. “The personalities of these two people shine through in ways that make the art form complete in itself, as they were able to make it express anything they wanted it to express,” observes the pianist.
William Byrd & John Bull: The Visionaries of Piano Music – Kit Armstrong
