Troubled Times: Music and Espionage in Renaissance England explores sacred music written amid the religious and political instability of 16th-century England. Performed by The Queen’s Six with The Rose Consort of Viols, the programme examines how composers navigated shifting allegiances, censorship, exile, and suspicion, from the Henrician Reformation to the Elizabethan settlement. Works by Byrd, Taverner, Morley, Philips, Ferrabosco, and others reflect strategies of adaptation, concealment, and survival, whether through recusancy, foreign travel, or service at court. Placing music within its historical context, the recording highlights the complex relationship between faith, power, and artistic expression during a period of sustained upheaval.
Troubled Times: Music and Espionage in Renaissance England
The Queen’s Six
The Rose Consort of Viols
Release date: May 22nd 2026
Catalogue number: SIGCD978
Barcode: 635212097823
[1] Almighty God, which by the leading of a star – John Bull
[2] Quemadmodum – John Taverner
[3] Quam pulcra es – Richard Sampson
[4] Cunctis diebus – William Byrd
[5] Vias tuas – Alfonso Ferrabosco I
[6] Who will rise up? – Martin Peerson
[7] O God the rock of my whole strength – John Wilbye
[8] Out of the deep – Thomas Morley
[9] Eheu sustulerunt – Thomas Morley
[10] Domine Dominus noster – Thomas Morley
[11] In nomine – John Bull
[12] Laboravi in gemitu meo – Alfonso Ferrabosco I
[13] Fuerunt mihi lacrimae – Alfonso Ferrabosco II
[14] O salutaris hostia à 6 – William Byrd
[15] Beata Agnes – Peter Philips
[16] Factum est silentium – Richard Dering
[17] Teach me, O Lord – William Byrd