About this Event
Stile Antico are acclaimed worldwide for revitalising the music of the Renaissance, and in this show they are joined by historian Brean Hammond to tell the story of William Byrd's life and work. This narrated performance, accompanied by sublime choral music, is full of wit and intrigue, revealing the challenges Byrd faced as a Catholic composer in Protestant England and what inspired him to write some of the most beautiful music of the Renaissance. More than 400 years later, Byrd’s music remains at the heart of our choral tradition and has become synonymous with English sacred music.
There is plenty of Parking at St Joseph's Church car park, just across the road.
There show will last about 70 minutes without an interval.
Stile Antico is one of the world’s most accomplished and innovative vocal ensembles. Working without a conductor, its twelve members have thrilled audiences on four continents with their vibrant and colourful performances of Renaissance polyphony. Its bestselling recordings have earned accolades including the Gramophone Award for Early Music, Diapason d’or de l’année, Edison Klassiek Award, and Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik. The group has received three Grammy® nominations, and performed live at the 60th Grammy® Awards at Madison Square Garden.
Stile Antico has appeared at many of Europe’s leading venues, including Wigmore Hall, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Leipzig Gewandhaus and Madrid’s Auditorio Nacional, and regularly features at such prestigious festivals as the BBC Proms, Laus Polyphoniae Antwerp, and the Utrecht and York Early Music festivals. The group frequently tours to the US and Canada, performing annually in Boston and New York, and has appeared at Ravinia, Washington National Cathedral, and in some twenty-five US states. Stile Antico has also appeared in Mexico, Colombia, Hong Kong, Macau, and South Korea.
Stile Antico is passionate about sharing its repertoire and working style with the widest possible audience. The group taught regularly at Dartington, and now leads courses for its successor, the Music Summer School at Gresham’s School, and for Zenobia Música in Ávila, alongside its own ‘Come and Sing’ days. The support of the charitable Stile Antico Foundation has enabled the group to offer bursaries to talented young ensembles, and to run an annual Youth Consort course.
In addition to its core repertoire, Stile Antico has premiered works by Kerry Andrew, Cheryl Frances-Hoad, Joanna Marsh, John McCabe, Nico Muhly, Giles Swayne, and Huw Watkins, and collaborated with such diverse artists as Fretwork, Folger Consort, Marino Formenti, Lemn Sissay, B’Rock, Rihab Azar, and Sting.
The group’s eighteenth album, Toward the Dawn, is released in early 2027.
Brean Hammond
Brean Hammond is Emeritus Professor of Modern English Literature at the University of Nottingham. He is the author of many books and articles on literary history from Shakespeare to Byron. He is best-known in Shakespearean circles for his publication of the 'lost' Shakespeare play Double Falsehood in the Arden Shakespeare series (2010). He also writes prose fiction and theatre pieces. His play about Ben Jonson, Ben and Jamie, was performed at the Byre Theatre, St. Andrews in 2016. His music-theatre play Master Byrd has been widely performed in England and overseas . It will be performed in 2026 at the Stour Festival by the Renaissance Singers with Vincent Franklin playing Byrd, and at the Guernsey Music Festival by Stile Antico with Brean Hammond in the role of Byrd. To learn more about Master Byrd, please visit: https://www.renaissancesingers.com/writing-master-byrd
Event venue & nearby stays
St. Joseph & St. Mary Catholic Church, La Couperderie, Guernsey, Guernsey
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