William Byrd Festival

Editor's Pick

When

Aug. 1–17, 2025

Days vary, Times vary

Where

Portland

Various Locations

The 2025 Byrd Festival celebrates a golden age of English church music. This year’s program is a tribute to the great composer Orlando Gibbons on the 400th anniversary of his death in 1625. The singers of Cantores in Ecclesia will perform resonant choral anthems and intricate solo music by Gibbons, along with the music of William Byrd, England’s greatest Renaissance composer. As most of the choral works of Gibbons are written in the vernacular, they will be pairedhttps://cantoresinecclesia.org/william-byrd-festival with some of the English anthems of William Byrd, and with movements from the latter’s epic Great Service. Two concerts, two lectures, six services and an organ recital will feature Cantores in Ecclesia with their director, Blake Applegate and Artistic Director of the Festival, Mark Williams, alongside well-known lecturer and Byrd expert Dr. Kerry McCarthy. 

The festival will be dedicated to the memory of Dr. William Mahrt. (1939-2025), a major contributor to the festival from its foundation, and whose lectures and insight into the music of Byrd have been an inspiration to many. The Requiem by Thomás Luis de Victoria will be sung in his honor on the morning of Saturday, August 9. On August 2, there will be an organ recital by Mark Williams featuring the music of Gibbons, Music for the Evening Hour: English Organ Music for the End of the Day, followed by a special Saturday evening Compline service. The opening concert, King of Glory: Music for Choir and Organ from the Golden Age of English Church Music, will be held at The Madeleine Church. The concluding concert, O Clap Your Hands: Byrd’s Great Service and Gibbons Anthems, will be held at the Church of St. Patrick. Choral Evensong will be held at the Parish of St. Mark and feature compositions by Gibbons and Byrd’s Great Service. Other liturgical services will be at Holy Rosary Church, including performances of Byrd’s three Mass settings and Compline.