16th September 2015
Some Tudor news: songs from 'Anne Boleyn's Songbook' have been performed and recorded for the first time. The book is thought to have belonged to Anne before her time as queen because of a note in the middle: 'Mistress Anne Bolleyne Nowe Thus' – Nowe Thus was the motto of her father Thomas. It's possible that Anne chose or wrote down the mostly French songs herself, collecting her favourite music. I think it's lovely that these beautiful songs should be recorded nearly five centuries after her death. One line translates to 'I will give you pleasure my dear, and thus I will ensure that what you hope for ends well... but remember, my love, everything will be good for those who wait' – it's amazing to imagine that this might have been sung during Anne and Henry's courtship.
The recordings have been released as an album, with the addition of a poem according to legend composed by Anne in the Tower, set to music. The choir are performing the songs on the 17 March at Cadogan Hall in London.