In celebration of Palestrina’s 500th anniversary, the Byrd Ensemble presents a program of Renaissance polychoral music by Palestrina and his contemporaries. The centerpiece of the program is the Missa Cantantibus organis Caecilia, written by seven Roman musicians who each composed different parts of the Mass using themes from Palestrina’s motet of the same name. The result is a spectacular Mass setting for twelve voices in triple choir that demonstrates the breadth of the Roman style in this single work. The program also includes a new work by British composer Kerensa Briggs inspired by Palestrina’s Stabat mater, commissioned by the Byrd Ensemble.
