William Byrd on Film

Thanks to the New Liturgical Movement , I found a beautiful film called Playing Elizabeth’s Tune—The Life of William Byrd . It tells the story of how one of Britain’s greatest composers, a Catholic, kept the favor of Queen Elizabeth in a time of religious upheaval. Narrated in an edgy, modern voice—a little odd for a composer of polyphony—the film is pleasantly punctuated by videos of the Tallis Scholars singing Byrd’s works. Fans of early music take note.