Thomas Weelkes's guest appearances

Thomas Weelkes

The Essay

From The Red House

OwlTail

Known for madrigals, organ playing and disorderly conduct - Thomas Weelkes wrote his first published pieces when young and went on to work in Winchester college and Chichester cathedral.  400 years after his death, New Generation Thinker Ellie Chan, from the University of Manchester, digs beneath the mythology surrounding his life and music.Producer: Luke MulhallNew Generation Thinkers is a scheme run by BBC Radio 3 and the Arts and Humanities Research Council to select ten early career academics each year who turn their research into radio.  You can find a collection of discussions, essays and features focusing on their new research on the Free Thinking programme website and you can hear more from Ellie Chan in an episode called The Tudor Mind.

Known for madrigals, organ playing and disorderly conduct - Thomas Weelkes wrote his first published pieces when young and went on to work in Winchester college and Chichester cathedral. 400 years after his death, New Generation Thinker Ellie Chan, from the University of Manchester, digs beneath the mythology surrounding his life and music. Producer: Luke Mulhall New Generation Thinkers is a scheme run by BBC Radio 3 and the Arts and Humanities Research Council to select ten early career academics each year who turn their research into radio. You can find a collection of discussions, essays and features focusing on their new research on the Free Thinking programme website and you can hear more from Ellie Chan in an episode called The Tudor Mind.

The discordant tale of Thomas Weelkes

William Byrd

In 2023 we mark the 400th anniversary of the deaths of two composers who wrote beautiful music, and who lived in extraordinary times. William Byrd (c.1540-1623) lived through a remarkably turbulent period of history, under no fewer than six monarchs. He wrote a huge amount of exquisite choral works, including Catholic masses which – depending who was on the throne – would only have been performed under conditions of secrecy.   Thomas Weelkes (1576-1623) was an organist and composer, best-known for his brilliant and vivid madrigals (as well as for his somewhat chaotic lifestyle). Music Opening and ending: ‘Kyrie’ and ‘Agnus Dei’ from Byrd’s Mass for Four Voices. Performed by the Marian Consort, conducted by Rory McCleery from the album Singing in Secret (Delphian, 2020).During the podcast: Byrd’s ‘Ave verum corpus’. Performed by the Choir of Merton College, Oxford conducted by Peter Philips from the album Viri Galilaei: Favourite Anthems from Merton (Delphian, 2016).With grateful thanks to Delphian for giving us permission to use these recordings.  

In 2023 we mark the 400th anniversary of the deaths of two composers who wrote beautiful music, and who lived in extraordinary times. William Byrd (c.1540-1623) lived through a remarkably turbulent period of history, under no fewer than six monarchs. He wrote a huge amount of exquisite choral works, including Catholic masses which – depending who was on the throne – would only have been performed under conditions of secrecy.   Thomas Weelkes (1576-1623) was an organist and composer, best-known for his brilliant and vivid madrigals (as well as for his somewhat chaotic lifestyle). Music Opening and ending: ‘Kyrie’ and ‘Agnus Dei’ from Byrd’s Mass for Four Voices. Performed by the Marian Consort, conducted by Rory McCleery from the album Singing in Secret (Delphian, 2020).During the podcast: Byrd’s ‘Ave verum corpus’. Performed by the Choir of Merton College, Oxford conducted by Peter Philips from the album Viri Galilaei: Favourite Anthems from Merton (Delphian, 2016).With grateful thanks to Delphian for giving us permission to use these recordings.