Byrd in Oxford - Contrapunctus: Byrd - A Song for All Seasons
A series of recitals and services featuring the music of William Byrd and contemporaries
Tickers £5 - £25, can be booked via the ticket tailor website.
2023 sees the 400th anniversary of the death of William Byrd (c.1540-1623), one of the finest English composers and musicians of the sixteenth/seventeenth century. To mark Byrd’s genius, this mini-festival sees a set of themed services and recitals across some of the premier musical institutions in Oxford.
William Byrd's vast output of Latin polyphony provided religious solace to his fellow Catholics in Protestant England and furnished their services with fine music at key moments in the church’s year. In this concert, marking the 400th anniversary of Byrd’s death, Contrapunctus explores the astonishing breadth of Byrd’s sacred output, including works for the great feasts of All Saints and Easter. Byrd's publication of this output for all seasons is even more remarkable given that he wrote much of it knowing that its performance in religious services was illegal.
