Byrd Stories

English Renaissance composer William Byrd has long held a special place in the ears and hearts of music lovers around the globe. ByrdStories shares personal anecdotes about individuals' relationship to Byrd. These are legacy posts from the ByrdCentral 2023 anniversary project.

Friederike Chylek's Keybyrd musick

Harpsichordist Friederike Chylek's specialism is English keyboard music of the 16th and 17th centuries. Her three solo recordings, Time...

Katie Bank

Feb 19, 20243 min read

Nicholas Mulroy: The Fifth Element/Seeing Like a Child

Born in Liverpool, tenor Nicholas Mulroy was a chorister at the city’s Metropolitan Cathedral before studying Modern Languages at...

Katie Bank

Oct 21, 20233 min read

Ross Duffin's Family Ties

Ross W. Duffin is Distinguished University Professor Emeritus and Fynette H. Kulas Professor of Music Emeritus at Case Western Reserve...

Katie Bank

Oct 17, 20232 min read

Roxanna Panufnik: Byrd-inspired

Roxanna Panifnik b.1968 ARAM, GRSM(hons), LRAM studied composition at the Royal Academy of Music and, since then, has written a wide...

Katie Bank

Oct 13, 20232 min read

Katie Bank's Byrd List

Dr Katie Bank is a music historian at the University of Birmingham and the creator of ByrdCentral. Katie has published scholarly books...

Katie Bank

Jun 23, 20236 min read

Richard Rastall's Getting to know you

Dr Richard Rastall is Emeritus Professor of Historical Musicology at the University of Leeds.

Katie Bank

Feb 16, 20233 min read

Robert Quinney's Byrd Great, Part II of II

Robert Quinney is Organist of New College, Oxford.

Katie Bank

Feb 6, 20235 min read

Earl of Oxford: A Goodly Manor For A Song

This ByrdStory comes from someone with an unusually close historical and musical connection to the composer. The description for...

Katie Bank

Jan 11, 20233 min read

James MacMillan's Lament for Will

Sir James MacMillan is one of today’s most successful composers and performs internationally as a conductor. His musical language is...

Katie Bank

Jan 5, 20232 min read

Danny & Thomas are excited for Rorate Caeli

Cousin choristers Danny & Thomas chat with infectious enthusiasm about their favourite piece of Byrd: the Advent introit Rorate caeli.

Katie Bank

Dec 4, 20221 min read

Patrick Dunachie goes time travelling with Will and Tom (and Tim)

Patrick Dunachie is a countertenor in The King's Singers.

Katie Bank

Nov 25, 20225 min read

Roderick Williams: Holding Hands with Composers Past

In this charming video, Roddy gives us a peek into his lifelong relationship with Byrd's music, starting with his boyhood as a chorister.

Katie Bank

Nov 18, 20221 min read

Harry Christophers Breaks the Spine

Harry Christophers shares a ByrdStory about his recent experiences with Byrd's 1611 songbook.

Katie Bank

Oct 31, 20224 min read

Robert Quinney's Ut re mi fa sol la, Part I of II

Robert Quinney is Organist of New College, Oxford. In addition to the daily direction of New College’s world-famous choir, he is also a...

Katie Bank

Oct 9, 20226 min read

Cheryl Frances-Hoad's Your Servant, Elizabeth

Composer Cheryl Frances-Hoad's music has been described as "like a declaration of faith in the eternal verities of composition" (The...

Katie Bank

Oct 3, 20223 min read

Jonathan Arnold's Infelix Ego

Revd Dr Jonathan Arnold is Director of Communities and Partnerships in the Diocese of Canterbury and Honorary Research Fellow at the...

Katie Bank

Aug 5, 20222 min read

Kerry McCarthy's "No Fishing From This Bank"

Kerry McCarthy is author of the book Byrd (OUP, 2013) A short share. This photo was taken on the bank of the River Trent in Newark, where...

Katie Bank

Jul 26, 20221 min read

Sebastian B. Pin's Byrd Tattoo

or, Why do I use my paper, 'ink' and pen?

Katie Bank

Jun 7, 20221 min read

Lucy Matheson's Music Homework

Lucy is Librarian at Lincoln College, Oxford, soprano, socialite and occasional allotment gardener. My first introduction to William Byrd...

Katie Bank

Jun 7, 20221 min read

Robert Busiakiewicz's Credo Catastrophe

In this video, Rob (conductor, composer, and founder of Opus 8), shares a memorable moment in a French Cathedral with Byrd a 5....

Katie Bank

May 28, 20221 min read