Performance on 3 - As I Went to Walsingham - Part 1

From St Paul's Church, Knightsbridge in London. Presented by Catherine Bott. The BBC Singers, conducted by Peter Philips, explore the sacred music of the Tudor period, featuring some of the English composers who weathered the storm as the church swung violently between Catholic and Protestant regimes. The concert title - As I went to Walsingham - comes from a folk tune commemorating England's greatest Catholic shrine, ruthlessly destroyed by Henry VIII. The programme celebrates the music of some of the greatest Catholic composers of the era and includes an elaborate motet in praise of the Virgin Mary by William Mundy, examples of Latin church music by Thomas Tallis and John Sheppard, and pieces by William Byrd and Philippe de Monte, which are coded messages of despair and support for the plight of English Catholics. Mahan Esfahani (harpsichord/organ) BBC Singers Peter Phillips (conductor) Thomas Tallis: Loquebantur variis linguis John Sheppard: Laudem dicite Deo William Byrd: Miserere à 3; Fantasia William Mundy: Vox patris caelestis