In this special edition, musician and expert on choral music Joe McHardy joins Dr Lucy Walker for a lively and wide-ranging conversation about the life and times of composers William Byrd and Thomas Weelkes, including some stunning extracts from Byrd’s music.
In 2023 we mark the 400th anniversary of the deaths of two composers who wrote beautiful music, and who lived in extraordinary times. William Byrd (c.1540-1623) lived through a remarkably turbulent period of history, under no fewer than six monarchs. He wrote a huge amount of exquisite choral works, including Catholic masses which – depending who was on the throne – would only have been performed under conditions of secrecy. Thomas Weelkes (1576-1623) was an organist and composer, best-known for his brilliant and vivid madrigals (as well as for his somewhat chaotic lifestyle).
Music
Opening and ending: ‘Kyrie’ and ‘Agnus Dei’ from Byrd’s Mass for Four Voices. Performed by the Marian Consort, conducted by Rory McCleery from the album Singing in Secret (Delphian, 2020).
During the podcast: Byrd’s ‘Ave verum corpus’. Performed by the Choir of Merton College, Oxford conducted by Peter Philips from the album Viri Galilaei: Favourite Anthems from Merton (Delphian, 2016).
With grateful thanks to Delphian for giving us permission to use these recordings.