John Rose, bass viol, c. 1600. The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Orlando Gibbons: The Verse Anthem
Workshop · with Cascadia Viols
Grace Memorial Episcopal Church, 1535 NE 17th Ave, Portland
By the early 17th century, English church composers had developed a distinctly hybrid form: the verse anthem, which alternates full choral sections with passages for solo voice accompanied not by organ but by a consort of viols. It's a texture that sits somewhere between sacred polyphony and chamber music — intimate, expressive, and built to showcase both a solo singer's declamation and the instrumentalists' close ensemble playing.
$40