England’s finest composer was a covert Catholic facing brutal prosecution. Hear Byrd’s Mass for 5 Voices as he intended: sung for private worship in strictest secrecy.
The Gesualdo Six and Fretwork collaborate for the first time in a theatrical seance by candlelight that invites you inside the music like never before.
A limited audience roams freely around a costumed and staged performance in the intimate Crypt of St Martin’s, breaking bread and celebrating Byrd’s ravishing masterpiece. This world premiere performance invites secular and religious audiences alike to commune with some of the most ravishing music ever written, recreating the music (and the spiritual intensity) of forbidden Catholic worship at the height of England’s golden age.