William Byrd, considered the most admired composer of his generation in England, openly served the recusant (Catholic) community through his music, enjoying a degree of impunity due to his friendship with Queen Elizabeth I.
Composer Biography
Peter Philips, the most-published English composer after Byrd, fled England in 1582 due to his Catholicism and spent much of his working life in the Low Countries.
Historical Context
The works on this album were created in the context of religious persecution in Elizabethan England, following Pope Pius V's 1570 bull declaring Elizabeth I a heretic.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Many English Catholic composers of this era found inspiration in Old Testament texts, particularly those concerning the Babylonian captivity and the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple.
Composer Biography
John Dowland, a composer known for his melancholy music, spent time at the Danish court after failing to secure royal patronage in England, possibly due to his Catholic leanings.
Composition History
Huw Watkins's "The Phoenix and the Turtle" is a contemporary setting of a Shakespeare poem, commissioned for Stile Antico, which some interpret as an allegory for Catholic martyrs.
Album & Artwork
The album title, "In a Strange Land," refers to the question "How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?" from Psalm 137, a key text for English Catholics in exile.
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