Angelus ad virginem is a popular medieval carol that appeared in at least six manuscripts from the late thirteenth to the mid-sixteenth century in England, France and Ireland. The words appeared in Latin (‘Angelus ad virginem’) as well as English (‘Gabriel fram evene king’) with subtle differences in the melody across the sources. The complete poem, which tells the story of the angel Gabriel’s visit to Mary, is said to have originally consisted of twenty-seven stanzas, each beginning with the consecutive letter of the alphabet. Here we perform a more modest four verses, gradually adding voices as the piece progresses.

from notes by Owain Park © 2019