About this Artist

• Biography

Editorial Reviews

Henry VIII and His Six Wives is mainly a collection of soundtrack music David Munrow compiled and composed in 1972 for the theatrical film version of an outstanding 1971 BBC series known as The Six Wives of Henry VIII. It represents a mixture of period music from Henry VIII's time, including some of his compositions, and atmospheric pieces composed especially for the film by Munrow. The atmospheric pieces are grand, demonstrating that wheezing, grinding sounds of Renaissance instruments are ideal for building dramatic tension in a movie based in the sixteenth century. The period music mainly consists of snappy dance numbers, which are delightful and expertly played and well up to Munrow's usual standard.

In order to fill out the content of this single disc, Testament has added a few tracks each from the albums Greensleeves to a Ground (1977) and Instruments of the Middle Ages and Renaissance (1976). David Munrow was a leading light in the early music and Renaissance movement of the 1960s and 1970s. That Munrow is no longer here, owing to his death in May 1976 for reasons that are still not sufficiently explained, is often the focus of most discussions about his life and work. Reissues such as this one help restore Munrow's work to its rightful context and to deliver what is best about his amazing life -- his music: Henry VIII and His Six Wives is an absolutely indispensable part of the puzzle. Outside of some minor slippage in tape speed owing to the age of these master tapes, the recordings, all made at Abbey Road, sound terrific. Uncle Dave Lewis, All Music Guide

Customer Reviews

• Listener Rating:
• Ratings: 1