Opening Concert: 'Write all these down': Choral Works from Byrd's 1611 Psalms, Songs and Sonnets

Featured soloists, conducted by David Trendell

Friday, August 12, 2010 at 7:30 P.M.
St. Stephen's Church

This year’s William Byrd Festival celebrates the 400th anniversary of Byrd’s very last songbook, the 1611 Psalms, Songs and Sonnets. The composer was in his early seventies when he published this book, which he described as his swan song and his “last labours”. The Byrd Festival’s opening concert features a selection of music from Psalms, Songs and Sonnets, performed as it was sung in Byrd’s own day: one voice to a part, with a small group of expert soloists. The concert includes boisterous songs, quiet devotional pieces, and some astonishing experiments by a composer who seems to have been quite aware of the new musical trends of the early 17th century. He was not exaggerating when he wrote about his own music in the preface to his 1611 songbook: “The oftener you shall hear it, the better cause of liking you will discover”.  David Trendell from King’s College, London, will conduct.

ADVANCE TICKETS NOW AVAILABLE HERE:
$20 general admission
$15 seniors and students