It's not a 'Secret': Performance Santa Fe is commemorates the work of English composer William Byrd

Performance Santa Fe is turning the Scottish Rite Temple into an immersive staged Mass.

Commemorating the 400-year legacy of English Renaissance composer William Byrd, “Secret Byrd” stars the British vocal group The Gesualdo Six and the New York-based Abendmusik viol consort at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 14, and Wednesday, Nov. 15.

Byrd, a composer during the tumultuous times of the Protestant Reformation, continued to compose clandestine pieces even in the face of brutal persecution due to his covert Catholic faith. This concert seeks to recapture Byrd’s Mass for Five Voices in its most genuine form: sung one-on-a-part in the strictest secrecy.

During the show, audience members are invited to move freely throughout the space, break bread, and engage with the experience as active participants, not simply passive observers.

This unique production comes from the mind of Bill Barclay, director, writer, composer, and Artistic Director of Concert Theater Works.

The Gesualdo Six is a British vocal ensemble comprised of consort singers, directed by Owain Park. Praised for their imaginative programming and impeccable blend, the ensemble has performed at numerous major festivals across UK, Europe, Canada and Australia. Notable highlights include a concert as part of the distinguished Deutschland Radio Debut Series in 2018, and collaborations with the Brodsky Quartet, London Mozart Players, Luxmuralis, William Barton, and Matilda Lloyd.

Abendmusik presents rarely performed repertoire from the 17th and early 18th centuries composed for string consort.

The term Abendmusik refers to the free concert series established by the organist Franz Tunder in Lübeck churches in the 17th century and cultivated further by North German composer Dieterich Buxtehude in the early 18th century.