Troubled Times

Troubled Times: Music and Espionage in Renaissance England explores religious 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 loyalties, censorship, exile and mistrust, from the Reformation under Henry VIII to the Elizabethan period. Works by Byrd, Taverner, Morley, Philips, Ferrabosco and others reflect strategies of adaptation, concealment and survival, whether refusing the Catholic Church, traveling abroad or serving at court. By placing music in its historical context, the recording illuminates the complex relationship between faith, power and artistic expression during a period of sustained unrest.