Welcome to our Festival blog

We are a small congregation commemorating the 400th anniversary of the death of the village's Elizabethan composer, William Byrd (c.1540 - 1623).

We are planning to erect a permanent memorial to Byrd to mark the quatercentenary since his death, and have begun a fundraising appeal. Our events this year have included a talk on The Life and Times of William Byrd (30 June), including book release; a Commemorative Service of BCP Evensong (2 July); and, welcomed The Stondon Singers who gave a sell-out William Byrd Anniversary Concert on the actual day (4 July). Stondon Massey has also featured on BBC Radio 3's 'Composer of the Week' programme (3-7 July).

This website contains everything you need to know about William Byrd's life and music as well as his links with Stondon Massey. /

Thursday 21 April 2011

Six of the Best: William Byrd recordings

The Cardinall's Musick, under the direction of Andrew Carwood, completed the entire corpus of Byrd's Latin-text music last year with the Gramophone award winning disc 'In Felix Ego'. The fifth of the thirteen discs features the Mass for Three, Four and Five Voices, probably the most performed of all Byrd's music.

The Writtle Singers will perform the Mass for Four Voices in its entirety at their concert entitled 'William Byrd: Loyal Heart or Traitor' as part of the William Byrd Festival at St Peter & St Paul Church, Stondon Massey on Saturday 14 May (7.30pm).

The previous week the Masses feature among the musical illustrations to be given by the Stondon Singers when Richard Turbet talks on 'William Byrd: His Essex Years'.

If there is one Byrd CD to own, this is the one.

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