大象传媒

Donald Macleod explores some of the vast range of Byrd鈥檚 music including secret settings of the Latin Mass, instrumental dances and erotic songs.

Religious intolerance cast a long shadow over the life and music of William Byrd. As a Roman Catholic in Elizabethan England, he was persecuted by the state and often forced to tread a dangerous path between his personal convictions and his duty to the Queen.
His musical talent and his strength of character enabled him not just to survive, but thrive. Despite his trials he was, and continues to be, celebrated as the greatest British musician of his age.

There is frustratingly little evidence that William Byrd was personally acquainted with his fellow Elizabethan, William Shakespeare. Although, a tantalising reference to 鈥渢he bird of loudest lay鈥� in Shakespeare鈥檚 sonnet, The Phoenix and the Turtle hints that they may have been more than mere contemporaries. Byrd did move in celebrated circles, including his long service in the Queen鈥檚 Chapel Royal choir. In this first programme Donald Macleod explores how Byrd鈥檚 faith marked him out as an outsider, even as his talent led him to the very heart of the British musical establishment.

All this week, to accompany Composer of the Week, Radio 3 is also exploring William Byrd鈥檚 life through a series of new dramas starring David Suchet. To Preserve the Health of Man is at 10.45 each night.

Fantasia a6 (II)
Phantasm

Mass for Four Voices (Extract)
The Cardinall鈥檚 Musick

O dear life, when may it be
Robin Blaze, countertenor
Concordia

Galiardo Mistris Marye Brownlow
Davitt Moroney (harpsichord)

Infelix ego
Stile Antico

Producer: Chris Taylor