William Byrd: The Carmans Whistle/Joyce Chen, harpsichord

Joyce Chen, harpsichord Recorded at Zuckermann Harpsichords International on September 15, 2020. Instrument Used: Italian Virginal built at the shop with lid painting at resident artist Tatiana Nivina. About the work: William Byrd is one of the most celebrated Elizabethan composers with a prolific output of polyphonic choral music, keyboard works, as well as consort music. Byrd was a devout Catholic and many of his controversial acts (and associations) were pardoned by the Tudor authorities because of his musical gifts and contribution. (He still got into troubles in several occasions….). This particular piece was the first Elizabethan piece I had learned on the harpsichord back in 2009. It is an exemplary piece for keyboard variation set to a song: “The Carman’s Whistle” refers to the whistling of a carman, or carter. This setting has been included in Fitzwilliam Virginal Book as well as My Ladye Nevells Booke. Davitt Moroney, one of my former harpsichord teachers, notes that surviving sources of the work include fingering (or the so-called ‘early fingering’) and suggests that the piece also had a pedagogical purpose. About me: I am a professional harpsichordist based in Philadelphia, PA. Check out my website: for more info. Thank you for watching, and please like, comment, share, and subscribe if you can! See you next week! My videos usually premiere on Fridays at 12pm EST.