William Byrd

Richard Marlow of Trinity College in Cambridge will return across the ocean to Portland to conduct Cantores in Ecclesia Aug. 10-24 in choral masterpieces.
The underlying hero of the two-week festival is the man it is named after, William Byrd, a preeminent composer of the English Renaissance. Byrd, who died in 1623, remained loyal to the Catholic Church despite strong pressure to follow Anglican schism.

The festival, the 11th, will feature five liturgical services, three concerts and five public lectures. Festival highlights include liturgies with Byrd’s Masses for three, four, and five voices, music from the “Gradualia” (1605) for the Feast of the Assumption, and a choral evensong featuring Byrd’s “Great Service” for 10 voices.
The concerts for this year’s festival feature performances by keyboardist Mark Williams from London. The festival closes with a concert of choral music from the 1607 “Gradualia,” directed by Marlow.

As a boy, Marlow sang at the coronation of Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey in 1953. He has been fellow, organist and director of Music at Trinity College since 1968. In 1969 he founded the Cambridge University Chamber Choir, which gained international acclaim for its enterprising programs and stylish performances. At Benjamin Britten’s invitation, he regularly directed performances of Bach’s three settings of the Passion. He toured and recorded extensively with the mixed choir of Trinity College.

Cantores in Ecclesia, under director Dean Applegate, sings Saturday evenings for Mass at St. Stephen Church in Southeast Portland. At Mass and in concert, it draws from a wide variety of music, including chant, Renaissance polyphony, and sacred compositions by 20th-century English and French composers. The choir has won acclaim in European competitions and will soon make a new recording.

Here is the William Byrd Festival schedule:
• 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 10 — “A Merry Noyse,” an illustrated recital of the keyboard music of William Byrd given by Mark Williams of London. St. Stephen Church, Southeast 41st and Salmon. $20 general admission, $15 seniors and students.
• 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 15 — Pontifical High Mass (1962 Missal) for the Feast of the Assumption, featuring music from Byrd’s “Gradualia” (1605). St. Stephen Church. Freewill offering.
• 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 16 — “Ye Sacred Muses,” music for viols and voices, an illustrated recital given by David Trendell, King’s College, London, with Karl Blume, Tuesday Kingsbury and Ann Wetherell, accompanied by the Festival Consort. St. Stephen Church, freewill offering.
• 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16 — Solemn Pontifical Mass (1970 Missal), featuring Byrd’s “Mass for Five Voices.” St. Stephen Church. Freewill offering. A public lecture will be given before Mass at 7 p.m.
• 11 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 17 — Solemn High Mass (1962 Missal) featuring Byrd’s “Mass for Three Voices.” Holy Rosary Church, NE Third and Clackamas. Freewill offering.
• 4:15 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 17 — Organ recital played by Mark Williams. Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, NW 19th and Everett. Freewill offering.
• 5 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 17 — Choral Evensong featuring Byrd’s “Great Service.” Trinity Episcopal Cathedral. Freewill offering.
• 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 23. “Words and Music in Byrd’s Gradualia,” a lecture by William Mahrt, Stanford University. St. Stephen Church. Freewill offering.
• 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 23 — Solemn Pontifical Mass (1970 Missal) featuring Byrd’s “Mass for Four Voices.” St. Stephen Church. Freewill offering. A public lecture will be given before Mass at 7 p.m.
• 7 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 24 — Pre-concert lecture by William Mahrt, Stanford University.
St. Stephen Church, freewill offering.
• 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 24 — “More Music from Byrd’s Gradualia (1607),” a choral concert given by Cantores in Ecclesia, directed by Richard Marlow, Trinity College, Cambridge. St. Stephen Church, $20 general admission, $15 seniors and students.
The schedule is available at www.byrdfestival.org.
Tickets for the concerts are available online at www.brownpapertickets.com, by phone 1-800-838-3006, or at the door.
The remaining events are free admission with a freewill offering.