Guy Protheroe directs a group of singers that includes former and current members of The English Chamber Choir. They offer work not only by English composers, but also music of the Low Countries printed on the Antwerp presses of Plantin. There will be two interludes by Cébarré, a viol consort for 3- to 5-part music of the renaissance and the baroque.
The concert reflects two historical strands. The first is music which Tyndale himself would have heard and maybe been familiar with, both in England and in Flanders. The choir’s programme includes some marvellous settings by John Sheppard and John Taverner, alongside motets by Josquin des Prés and Guillaume Dufay. The second strand illustrates the invention and influence of music printing, and thus publishing, in the later years of the 16th century. There is particular reference to the publishing activities of Plantin in Antwerp and Thomas Tallis and William Byrd in England. One of Plantin's early collections was a volume of eight masses, composed by Georges de la Hèle, a native of Antwerp. The choir will be singing excerpts from these masses based on the motets by Josquin and Lassus.
Meanwhile, in 1575 Thomas Tallis and William Byrd were granted a monopoly of religious music publication in any language by Queen Elizabeth I. Among the English settings will be Tallis' 'If ye love me' and Sheppard's early version of 'The Lord's Prayer.’
In a first interlude, the viol consort Cébarré will be offering 3-part music from the court of Henry VIII, with some of it composed by ‘Kynge Henry’ himself. A second interlude takes us to the later years of the Tudors, with music of William Byrd and Elway Bevin. For the execution of 16th-century music they play on renaissance viols.
Sponsors: The Tyndale Society; the University of Louvain (INCAL, GEMCA)
Practical information
Date: Wednesday 9 July 2025, from 20.00 to 21.30
Venue: AMUZ Concert Hall, Kammenstraat 81, Antwerp
- The concert is free if you are registered for one or more days of the conference.
- If you are not registered, you can book your ticket(s) using the link below.