ByrdStories

Robert Quinney's Byrd Great, Part II of II

Robert Quinney is Organist of New College, Oxford.

Feb 6, 20235 min read

Byrd-a-Thon for Mary Mags

A collaborative complete sight-read performance of the Latin choral works of William Byrd to raise money for the Mags music fund.

Feb 1, 20231 min read

Earl of Oxford: A Goodly Manor For A Song

This ByrdStory comes from someone with an unusually close historical and musical connection to the composer. The description for...

Jan 11, 20233 min read

Graphical Scores by Musanim

We are delighted to share some visualisations of Byrd's music by Stephen Malinowski (with additional scores forthcoming as a part of our...

Jan 6, 20231 min read

Gesualdo Six & Secret Byrd

Witness this extraordinary theatrical concert, which celebrates the 400 year legacy of William Byrd, one of England’s finest composers....

Jan 6, 20231 min read

James MacMillan's Lament for Will

Sir James MacMillan is one of today’s most successful composers and performs internationally as a conductor. His musical language is...

Jan 5, 20232 min read

Danny & Thomas are excited for Rorate Caeli

Cousin choristers Danny & Thomas chat with infectious enthusiasm about their favourite piece of Byrd: the Advent introit Rorate caeli.

Dec 4, 20221 min read

Patrick Dunachie goes time travelling with Will and Tom (and Tim)

Patrick Dunachie is a countertenor in The King's Singers.

Nov 25, 20225 min read

Westminster Cathedral Choir launch year-long celebration of 400th anniversary of William Byrd

To celebrate the 400th anniversary of the death of William Byrd, Westminster Cathedral Choir will perform the entirety of his Gradualia,...

Nov 22, 20222 min read

Roderick Williams: Holding Hands with Composers Past

In this charming video, Roddy gives us a peek into his lifelong relationship with Byrd's music, starting with his boyhood as a chorister.

Nov 18, 20221 min read

Harry Christophers Breaks the Spine

Harry Christophers shares a ByrdStory about his recent experiences with Byrd's 1611 songbook.

Oct 31, 20224 min read

Robert Quinney's Ut re mi fa sol la, Part I of II

Robert Quinney is Organist of New College, Oxford. In addition to the daily direction of New College’s world-famous choir, he is also a...

Oct 9, 20226 min read

The Sixteen, Byrd 1611 & Whitney's Emblems

Bank take a peek at Byrd's use of visual culture and consort song performance in Byrd's final songbook, Psalmes, Songs and Sonnets (1611).

Oct 7, 20223 min read

Cheryl Frances-Hoad's Your Servant, Elizabeth

Composer Cheryl Frances-Hoad's music has been described as "like a declaration of faith in the eternal verities of composition" (The...

Oct 3, 20223 min read

Jonathan Arnold's Infelix Ego

Revd Dr Jonathan Arnold is Director of Communities and Partnerships in the Diocese of Canterbury and Honorary Research Fellow at the...

Aug 5, 20222 min read

Kerry McCarthy's "No Fishing From This Bank"

Kerry McCarthy is author of the book Byrd (OUP, 2013) A short share. This photo was taken on the bank of the River Trent in Newark, where...

Jul 26, 20221 min read

Sebastian B. Pin's Byrd Tattoo

or, Why do I use my paper, 'ink' and pen?

Jun 7, 20221 min read

Lucy Matheson's Music Homework

Lucy is Librarian at Lincoln College, Oxford, soprano, socialite and occasional allotment gardener. My first introduction to William Byrd...

Jun 7, 20221 min read

Robert Busiakiewicz's Credo Catastrophe

In this video, Rob (conductor, composer, and founder of Opus 8), shares a memorable moment in a French Cathedral with Byrd a 5....

May 28, 20221 min read

Sally Dunkley's Early Byrd Discoveries

Sally Dunkley's long career as professional consort singer has run hand-in-hand with her interest in 16th-century vocal music as...

Apr 11, 20222 min read

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Just give us the short version and we can discuss sharing it on our site. Stories can include annotated playlists of Byrd or renaissance music (externally hosted on Spotify or similar), original art, anecdotes, photos, video, text, or audio clips.