The Old Science of Sound

2025 marks the 450th anniversary of Cantiones, quae ab argumento sacrae vocantur — a bold and enigmatic collection of Latin motets by William Byrd and Thomas Tallis, and the first of its kind to be published in England. Issued under a planned 21-year royal monopoly on music printing, the volume reflects the hidden pressures faced by recusant Catholics in Elizabethan England. Surfacing only four years after the Catholic Ridolfi plot to depose Elizabeth I, its precise purpose remains a subject of ongoing scholarly debate.

Brand-new vocal ensemble Catterwall presents an evening of music and discussion exploring this turbulent chapter in England’s religious history. Alongside motets from Cantiones, the programme includes newly reconstructed works from the fragmentary Baldwin Partbooks — some performed here for the first time in four centuries — set against the austere currency of Tallis’ metrical psalms from The Whole Psalter (1567).

The performance draws on historical pronunciation and vocal techniques informed by early modern anatomy manuals, offering a striking glimpse into elements of the soundworld of post-Reformation England. Readings from contemporary English Catholic literature, including texts from the English College in Rome, are woven through the programme.

An accompanying exhibition will be held at the York Minster Library and Archives (Old Palace), showcasing original copies of the 1575 Cantiones, Byrd’s Gradualia (1605), and other rare books and musical manuscripts. The display runs from 28 October to 30 November during regular opening hours.

This event is kindly supported by the Society for Renaissance Studies, the University of York’s Centre for Renaissance and Early Modern Studies, and other generous donors.