William Byrd's Great Service

Available for 29 days

Sara Mohr-Pietsch explores the musical landscape surrounding one of William Byrd's most celebrated works, his Great Service. Although Byrd was a devoted Catholic, the settings of the Great Service were intended to mark Anglican liturgy at great state occasions. These were dangerous times to be Catholic, and Sara follows a path towards Byrd's teacher and collaborator Thomas Tallis with his gorgeous anthem If Ye Love Me. Alongside, there's a classic waltz by another composer working under a restrictive regime, Dmitri Shostakovich. There is also music that, like the Great Service, was long lost, with Schubert's Unfinished Symphony and a piano quintet by Florence Price. And we hear the choral work of Dobrinka Tabakova, along with the playing of the great Glenn Gould - both of whom were directly inspired by Byrd himself. To listen to this programme on most smart speakers, just say: 'Ask BBC Sounds to play Music Map'