During the Renaissance musical composition flourished, but it was a time of great change, fuelled by religious division. This programme traces music written by some of the English Renaissance masters over a period of 200 years, encompassing florid medieval-sounding pieces by Pygott and Cornysh, intricately woven polyphonic works by Tallis and Byrd, and the beautiful simplicity of Mundy and Tomkins.

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The Gesualdo Six

Wigmore Hall

Imagine the voice of heaven itself: music that belongs to eternity yet somehow always feels new. Thomas Tallis’ Spem in alium is a landmark of Renaissance music – a masterpiece that seems to create its own sense of time and space. For more than 50 years, The Tallis Scholars have been the world’s pre-eminent performers of Tallis’ music; this should be extraordinary.

The Tallis Scholars

Cadogan Hall 

Just as the three wise men traveled to Bethlehem to visit the newborn baby Jesus, the DR Vocal Ensemble invites you this evening on a musical journey from darkness to light. We begin at the manger scene under the starry sky and end with the final chapter in the story of Jesus' birth: Candlemas, where the light returns, and the Virgin Mary, according to the Bible, presents Jesus in the temple.

Journey towards the light

Frederiksborg Castle

Trinity Church Copenhagen

Mahan Esfahani, perhaps today’s best-known harpsichordist, is an eloquent ambassador for the brilliance, beauty and versatility of the instrument.

Mahan Esfahani: Byrd, Dowland & Gibbons

Southbank Centre

The magnificent ode ‘Of old, when heroes thought it base’, also known as ‘The Yorkshire Feast Song’, shows Purcell at his most inventive in a celebration of the history of York from Roman times,complete with subtle references to the Glorious Revolution. Purcell’s music is heard alongside two masterpieces of Renaissance polyphony.

Resounding Shores: The Pale and the Purple Rose

Royal Academy of Music

The Los Angeles Master Chorale opens the 2024-2025 season with Sing Joyfully | 60th Anniversary Celebration Concert, which features a cappella pieces from the Renaissance to present day. The concert opens with William Byrd’s ebullient Sing Joyfully, and the Chorale will take Byrd at his word by joyfully singing choral showpieces by Anton Bruckner, Sergei Rachmaninoff and Juan Gutiérrez de Padilla. The second half of the program celebrates the 30th anniversary of Morten Lauridsen’s classic O Magnum Mysterium (written for the Chorale), along with glorious music of Elinor Remick Warren, Moses Hogan and Leonard Bernstein among many others.

Sing Joyfully | A 60th Anniversary Celebration Concert!

Walt Disney Concert Hall

'In the night, I sometimes dream of running through long grass or sandy beaches. I awake to remember that having had MS for 25 years, running now only takes place in my imagination. My new piece Dreams and Visions explores what it is to dream. Ideas flow from one to the next, like little vignettes of actual dreams. Musicians move throughout the hall, immersing the audience in an atmosphere inspired by different dreams and visions spanning 900 years.' - Alexander Campkin

Fretwork; Tenebrae

Mahan Esfahani has made it his life’s mission to rehabilitate the harpsichord, bringing it into the mainstream of concert instruments. Performances by the Iranian-born harpsichordist leave critics breathless and audiences rapt—his light touch and superhuman agility conjuring interpretations that are “exquisite beyond measure” (Los Angeles Times).

Mahan Esfahani In Recital

Stanford University

Join us for an enchanting evening of classical music at the picturesque Paxton House with "Music at Paxton: Night" on the 24th of July from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm. This unique concert is the second in a series of three, designed to showcase music that resonates with different times of the day, taking place in the stunning Picture Gallery of Paxton House.

This year's program, curated during the countless hazy hours spent awake by a new parent, explores the complex interplay of joy, love, desperation, and loneliness that comes with the arrival of new life. The highlight of the evening is Schumann's "Songs of Dawn," a piece that promises shimmering hope and glory just beyond the horizon, perfectly capturing the essence of the night turning into day.

Featuring the talented Polish-Welsh-English pianist Cordelia Williams, known for her poetic, convincing performances and deep understanding of Schubert and Schumann, the evening promises an intimate journey through music. Cordelia's remarkable interpretations and imaginative programming are sure to shed new light on well-known works and tell new stories that resonate with the audience.

The program includes:
- Scriabin's Piano Sonata No.2 in G sharp minor, Op.19
- Thomas Tomkins' "A Sad Pavan for these Distracted Times 1649"
- Bill Evans' "Peace Piece 1958"
- Robert Schumann's "Songs of Dawn" (Gesänge der Frühe), Op.133

Tickets are priced at £12, with concessions available at £8. Don't miss this opportunity to experience the transformative power of music in the historic and beautiful setting of Paxton House. Book your tickets now and let the music of the night move you.

For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit [infomusicatpaxton.co.uk](http://infomusicatpaxton.co.uk).

Music at Paxton: Night

Paxton House

The Princeton University Chamber Choir, directed by Gabriel Crouch, presents a concert on the 400th anniversary of the death of William Byrd.

Princeton University Chamber Choir: Celebrating William Byrd

Richardson Auditorium

Travel back in time. Markets bustle in Paris. Church bells ring out across the Vatican. Featuring music from six different cities, each with their own distinctive sound world, this programme ranges from the playful street cries of Janequin to the serene harmonies of Allegri, bringing to life the dawn of the Baroque era.

A Renaissance Roadtrip

Smith Square Hall

The Renaissance saw Europe regularly convulsed by war, as neighbours and rivals jostled for territory and power, Catholics and Protestants clashed over religious principle, and Christian nations contended with the threat of the Ottoman Turks. But it was also a time of great alliances, when peace treaties were celebrated with lavish diplomatic displays, and hostile nations were bound together through dynastic marriages. This fascinating programme explores the responses of composers to these turbulent times, drawing on almost two centuries of music from Dufay to Schütz. Along the way we experience the sounds of battle in Jannequin’s remarkable chanson La guerre, encounter plangent laments for fallen cities and lost generations, and savour serene motets welcoming longed-for peace.

Stile Antico

A sequence of music featuring rarely-heard verse anthems by Thomas Tomkins who provided music for Christmas Day and the feasts after Christmas – St Stephen, St John the Evangelist and the Holy Innocents. These anthems are elegant and witty, the very best chamber music of the early to mid-19th Century in England. Around them is another rarely-heard setting of the Mass by Palestrina, based on his own motet Dies sanctificatus. Typically elegant and expressive, it encapsulates both the wonder and joy of Christmas. To finish and to point the way forward is a verse anthem by John Bull for the feast of the Epiphany when we celebrate the visit of the Three Kings, and finally an eight-part ebullient setting of Dies sanctificatus by Palestrina.

Thomas Tomkins

Events

Upcoming events

Oct 25, 2026

A Renaissance Roadtrip · Sinfonia Smith Square

Nov 11, 2026

Stile Antico · Wigmore Hall

Dec 21, 2026

The Cardinall’s Musick · Wigmore Hall

Past events

Sep 9, 2026

The Gesualdo Six · Wigmore Hall

Jun 18, 2026

The Tallis Scholars · Cadogan Hall

About

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