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Byrd’s Catholic faith forced him to choose his friends carefully, and he rewarded his allies with extraordinary music. With Donald Macleod.

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.

Byrd cultivated friends in influential positions, including the family of Sir John Petre, who also shared Byrd’s Catholic faith. Donald Macleod follows Byrd to the Petre estate at Thorndon Hall in Essex where many of his works were performed, and to the nearby village of Stondon Massey where Byrd eventually set up his own country pad. Plus, we take a look along the shelves in Byrd’s personal library.

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

The Barley Breake
Sophie Yates, virginals

Ne irascaris Domine
Stile Antico

The Passinge Mesures: The Nynthe Pavian and Galliarede
Kathryn Farr, harpsichord

Mass for 5 voices (Sanctus, Agnus Dei)
The Choir of King’s College, Cambridge
Sir David Willcocks, director

O you that hear this voice
Emma Kirkby, soprano
Fretwork