The Tudors' Sacred Songs

Join Chamber Ensemble Vox Regis for an exploration of the sacred music of Tudor England!

Tudor sacred music is incredibly varied and beautiful, from elaborate Latin motets and masses by composers like Tallis, Taverner, and Byrd to simpler English anthems driven by the Reformation. The Church of the sixteenth century was undergoing dramatic changes, not only doctrinally and structurally but musically as well: the Reformation was a movement to reform the church’s liturgical life, and that of course affected what church musicians were expected to do (and not to do!). Nowhere was the musical turmoil of the period more confusing than in England: take just the works of Tallis, for example, whose output spans four eras of the Tudors, from large-scale votive antiphons for Henry VIII, shorter pieces in English for Edward VI, liturgical music for Mary, and liturgical and domestic motets in English and Latin for Elizabeth.

Our concert will feature works from a variety of sources and throughout the period, including The Eton Choirbook, a richly illuminated manuscript collection of English sacred music composed during the late 15th century, one of very few collections of Latin liturgical music to survive the English Reformation, and The Royal Choirbook, a collection of six motets produced in 1516 for Henry VIII, King of England, and his wife, Catherine of Aragon.

It's going to be a magnificent concert - we hope you'll plan to join us!

Ticketing information coming soon - STAY TUNED!