‘Since singing is so fine a thing, I wish all men would learn to sing.’

So said William Byrd – and nowhere in Anglican music is that sentiment more gloriously expressed than in his magnificent Great Service.

Byrd lived through some of the most turbulent years of Tudor England and the English Reformation. His music straddled the competing worlds of his deeply held Catholic faith and the new Anglican Church, producing some of the most profound and enduring sacred music of the English Renaissance.

Petros Singers are delighted to join forces with award-winning Ensemble Pro Victoria to perform this pinnacle of Elizabethan choral music. Written in the late 16th century for ten-part double choir, the Great Service is extraordinary in its scale and ambition – music of dazzling intricacy and richness, conceived for the splendour of the Chapel Royal.

Alongside the Great Service, we explore the two musical worlds Byrd inhabited, with Anglican anthems and intimate Catholic motets spanning his remarkable career.

Ensemble Pro Victoria is one of Britain’s finest young early music ensembles. Founded at Cambridge University in 2015, the group combines historical research with performances of the highest level.


Getting there
Holy Sepulcre, Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2DQ
5 minutes’ walk from St Paul’s
7 minutes’ walk from Farringdon
7 minutes’ walk from Blackfriars

Tickets 

Central nave: £35 | £30 concessions | £20 age 16–30

Side aisles (restricted view): £30 | £25 concessions | £15 age 16–30

Side chapel (no view of choir): £20 | £15 concessions | £10 age 16–30