Gloriana

The immensely powerful Tudor monarchs presided over an unparalleled musical flowering in England – especially under the long-lived Elizabeth I, herself a musician and lover of music, who came to Lavenham on a Royal Progress in 1578. We hear works from Elizabeth’s Protestant Chapel Royal – the finest musical institution in the land – but also music that circulated in clandestine Catholic circles, and we draw on two printed collections dedicated to her: the 1575 Cantiones sacrae and The Triumphs of Oriana. Stile Antico’s programme closes with an exceptionally vibrant piece written especially for them by Huw Watkins – a setting of a metaphysical poem by William Shakespeare.