Performances
June 9-11
*There are two performances each evening*
Performance #1: 6:00 - 8:30 PM
Reception - 6:00 - 7:00 PM
Walk/Trolley to the Catacombs - 7:00 - 7:30 PM
Show - 7:30 - 8:30 PM
Performance #2: 7:30 - 10:00 PM
Reception - 7:30 - 8:30 PM
Walk/Trolley to the Catacombs - 8:30 - 9:00 PM
Show - 9:00 - 10:00 PM
Each performance includes an hourlong spirits tasting, followed by a twilight walk through the cemetery to the Catacombs.
This year marks the 400th anniversary of the death of William Byrd, one of the great musical mavericks of the Renaissance. When Catholics were being tortured and killed for their beliefs during the Reformation, Byrd composed three masses for small ensembles, so that people could worship the old Latin rite in the secrecy of their homes. He did this not because he was a religious zealot, but because he wanted to speak out against injustice, and remind people that belief should be something that unites us, rather than divides us.
Part art installation, part concert, and part immersive theater, Secret Byrd springs from the visionary mind of Bill Barclay. The performance will feature 6 singers and 6 instrumentalists spread throughout the Catacombs, involving audience members in the experience of a forbidden Mass during a time of danger, and a powerful reminder of the tenuous nature of faith and tolerance.
Join us for an unforgettable performance that feels as relevant today as it did four centuries ago. This meditation on the religious persecution that divided Elizabethan England echoes the tragedies we witness unfolding across the globe now, and offers a plea for peace, hope and respect.
Fantasia in 3 parts No. 1
Fantasia in 3 parts No. 2
Fantasia in 3 parts No. 3
Fantasia No. 3 in C major for 3-part Consort
Fantasy a 5: Browning
Mass for 5 Voices: I. Kyrie & II. Gloria
Fantasia a 6, T 391
III. Credo
Fantasia a 6, T 390
IV. Sanctus
V. Benedictus & VI. Agnus Dei
Elegy on the death of Thomas Tallis (Ye Sacred Muses)
Agnus Dei - from the Mass in Four Voices
Pavan a 6
Galliard a 6
Infelix ego (a 6)
Haec Dies
Director, writer and composer Bill Barclay is Artistic Director of both Concert Theatre Works and Music Before 1800, NYC’s oldest early music presenter. A creator of concert-theatre, he was Director of Music at Shakespeare’s Globe from 2012-2019.
Abendmusik, New York’s Early Music String Band, showcases the rarely-performed repertoire of the late 16th and 17th centuries composed for string consort. The term “Abendmusik” refers to the free concert series established by the organist Franz Tunder in Lübeck churches in the 17th century. It was cultivated further by North German composer Dieterich Buxtehude in the early 18th century. Historically, Abendmusik programs featured sacred and secular vocal and instrumental solo and chamber works, as well as solo organ. The series became so popular, as a result of the free admission and the featured compositions, that it grew into a respectable cultural institution.
Specializing in Renaissance and Baroque classics, Cathedra, The Washington National Cathedral’s resident vocal concert ensemble, blends the best of ancient tradition with a pioneering approach that takes audiences on a journey of the heart into unexpected places.