Troubled Times Music and Espionage in Renaissance England

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.