Robert Fayrfax II

Both large-scale masses by Robert Fayrfax included in this volume are believed to be late works. O quam glorifica, in particular, was composed in 1511 for his supplication for the degree of Doctor of Music at Oxford, and in it the composer comprehensively explores the possibilities of extended structural planning. A feature of this edition is the restoration of the metrical character of the original, distorted in all surviving copies. Probably predating O quam glorifica, Tecum principium exhibits a simpler form, and is remarkable for the stylistic feature of unprepared dissonant fourths in the final section of the Agnus dei.