Secret Byrd

Watch the Trailer

Witness this extraordinary theatrical concert: an immersive staged mass, celebrating the 400 year legacy of William Byrd, one of England’s finest composers. We collaborate with The Gesualdo Six collaborate for the first time in a seance by candlelight, created and directed by Bill Barclay and produced by Concert Theatre Works.

Touring to London, Scotland, York, Bristol, Brighton, Cambridge, Manchester, Birmingham, Guildford, DC, NYC, Santa Fe, and churches in New England.

About the performances

A concert experience like never before. Help us celebrate Byrd’s activism by entering a living museum that tells his true story.

Concert Theatre Works uses imaginative production techniques to bring music to life. Soup and bread cooked on site are passed to foster a sense of ritual and inclusivity. Audiences rove freely among the costumed artists feeling the original hand-made part-books and sacred objects, all illuminated by candlelight.

About the music

Byrd was a recusant Catholic writing secret masses to be sung by worshippers during the Reformation. These masses were held in people’s homes with smuggled priests and hidden Catholic artifacts. Byrd’s courage in using his art to allow people the freedom of belief inspires us today, when three quarters of the world’s population still live in countries engaging in some form of religious intolerance.

Tour dates

London
27 & 28 January 2023
The Crypt at St Martin-in-the-Fields
Tickets

Lammermuir Festival
September 2023
St Mary’s Haddington

Bristol
September 2023
The Mount Without

Brighton
October 2023
St Bartholomew’s Church

York
December 2023
National Centre for Early Music

More to be announced soon

From the team

Bill Barclay – Creator & Director of Secret Byrd

“For Byrd’s anniversary I wanted to highlight a part of his personality that is little understood: his courageous activism.

Part art installation, part concert, and part immersive theatre, Secret Byrd will tour Byrd’s essential story, to highlight religious persecution still afflicting the world today, and perhaps most importantly – to encourage us all to let people believe what they wish.

I fervently believe that once we stop trying to convince people they’re wrong, we can move to the next stage of our evolution – working together to protect a world where we each get to choose our fate.”

Owain Park – Director of The Gesualdo Six

“From the moment I met Bill in an underground café, he had convinced me of his incredible storytelling power, and deep understanding of how music interacts with all of our senses.

We have always loved singing the music of William Byrd: from the intimate settings that sound almost conversational to intricately woven motets in numerous parts, it is all glorious and we can’t wait to deliver the team’s vision for Secret Byrd.

While anniversary years provide a temporary focus, I’m sure that this project will have a life of its own after 2023, with the combination of music, theatre, taste and light inspiring audiences and presenters alike.”

Secret Byrd has been co-commissioned by St Martin in the Fields, London, and Washington National Cathedral, DC, with generous support from Continuo Foundation.