William Byrd (c.1540-1623) composed keyboard music for the virginal and the collection of pieces entitled 'Parthenia', from which this pairing is taken (numbers 6 and 7) was published around 1612. The galliard begins at 1:34. The piano offers quite different opportunities - and constraints - to the virginal or harpsichord: it makes little sense to play the ornamentation which would be idiomatic in this music when performing it on the piano. In compensation, the modern piano's dynamic range and touch sensitivity creates a completely different sense of melodic line. So this is a kind of arrangement of the original and I have recorded it for its musical value, which in my view renders questions of authenticity secondary.
