Emmaus Partnership
To mark the 400th anniversary of the death of William Byrd, His Eminence Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster, will celebrate a Memorial Mass on Tuesday 4th July 2023 at 5.30pm, at Westminster Cathedral.
In a unique celebration of Byrd’s life and work, Westminster Cathedral Choir will sing Byrd’s Mass for five voices and two of his motets, Miserere mei Deus and Ave verum corpus.
Cardinal Nichols said: “William Byrd’s settings for the Mass were first heard in secret, in private chapels and back rooms, attended by Catholics who risked their livelihoods and by priests who risked their lives. Yet despite the private nature of these first performances, his music is full of life and emotion and communicates the vitality of a living faith, standing strong against the difficulties of the time. Every note, every phrase, is a prayer. Our prayer on 4th July stands in continuity with his.”
Full details of Westminster Cathedral Choir’s year-long celebration of William Byrd’s life can be found at westminstercathedral.org.uk/music/byrd400. All are welcome to attend and no reservation is required for Masses or other services.
William Byrd (c.1540 – 4th July 1623) was an English composer of the late Renaissance period, and considered to be one of the finest composers of his time and of his nation. He was Organist at Lincoln Cathedral and a Gentleman in the choir of the Chapel Royal in London. In 1575 he and Thomas Tallis were granted a joint monopoly for the importing, printing, publishing and sale of music. He was a Catholic during the religious turbulence of the late 1500s, when many prominent Catholics were executed for their beliefs.
Westminster Cathedral Choir is widely considered to be one of the finest choirs in the world. Since its foundation in 1901 it has occupied a unique and enviable position at the forefront of English church music, not least because of the ground-breaking work of its first Master of Music, Sir Richard Terry, who revived the great works of the English and continental Renaissance composers. In 1998 the choir was awarded the Gramophone Awards for ‘Best Choral Recording of the Year’ and ‘Record of the Year’. The choir has a history of commissioning and performing new music, giving first performances of pieces by Ralph Vaughan Williams, Gustav Holst, James MacMillan, John Tavener and Judith Bingham. Since 2021, the choir has been directed by Simon Johnson.
The Choir relies completely on funding from the Cathedral and donations. The Cathedral has recently launched a Choral Foundation to secure the financial future of the choir, which was at the forefront of the revival of William Byrd’s music in the early 20th Century. Further information is available at https://westminstercathedral.org.uk/music/the-choral-foundation/
Westminster Cathedral is the seat of the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster. It is a house of prayer where the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the Sacrament of Reconciliation are celebrated daily, and a focal point for many national and diocesan celebrations. https://westminstercathedral.org.uk
The building is inspired by the early Christian Byzantine architecture and was opened for public worship in 1903. It is an architectural gem of John Francis Bentley with its interior notable for rich marble decorations and the beautiful, but still incomplete, mosaics.
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