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Episode details

Radio 3,27 Sep 2026,89 mins

William Byrd's Great Service

Music Map

Available for 6 days

Sara Mohr-Pietsch explores the musical landscape surrounding one of William Byrd's most celebrated works, his Great Service. Although Byrd was a devoted Catholic, the settings of the Great Service were intended to mark Anglican liturgy at great state occasions. These were dangerous times to be Catholic, and Sara follows a path towards Byrd's teacher and collaborator Thomas Tallis with his gorgeous anthem If Ye Love Me. Alongside, there's a classic waltz by another composer working under a restrictive regime, Dmitri Shostakovich. There is also music that, like the Great Service, was long lost, with Schubert's Unfinished Symphony and a piano quintet by Florence Price. And we hear the choral work of Dobrinka Tabakova, along with the playing of the great Glenn Gould - both of whom were directly inspired by Byrd himself. To listen to this programme on most smart speakers, just say: 'Ask 麻豆社 Sounds to play Music Map'

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Tracklist

  1. Track
    Artist
  2. 1.
    Magnificat in E flat major BWV 243a: Magnificat anima mea Dominum
    Magnificat in E flat major BWV 243a: Magnificat anima mea Dominum
    Johann Sebastian Bach
  3. 2.
    Nunc Dimittis
    Nunc Dimittis
    Gustav Holst
  4. 3.
    Symphony No.8 "Unfinished": II Andante con moto
    Symphony No.8 "Unfinished": II Andante con moto
    Franz Schubert