Clandestine Masses

Peter Philips directs The Tallis Scholars in music of the greatest beauty, written in times of fear and darkness. The 1590s saw an intensification of the persecution of Catholics in England, and any seeking to worship had to exercise the very greatest caution and discretion. William Byrd’s three settings of the mass were intended for clandestine use only – in extremis, they needed just a handful of singers.

Yet this dangerous undertaking inspired him to astonishing heights: for all its modest scale, this music is sublime and humane, magnificent as well as intimate. Peter Philips pairs Byrd with motets by Thomas Tallis and Philip De Monte.

‘The sort of musical bliss which should never stop.' - Gramophone Magazine on The Tallis Scholar’s Byrd Masses recording

Programme:
Byrd Mass for Three Voices
Byrd Quomodo cantabimus
De Monte Super flumina Babylonis
Tallis If ye love me
Tallis O Nata Lux
Byrd Mass for Four Voices