During the religious and political upheavals of the English Renaissance, composers found many ways of coping with challenging times and changing allegiances. From recusancy (Wilbye, Peerson) and moving abroad (Philips, Dering), to suspected espionage (Bull, Morley, Ferrabosco I), these historical figures managed to keep writing music, often with hidden (and not-so-hidden) meaning. Only the most highly favoured (Byrd) were able to continue writing music as practising Catholics.

Starting with composers writing at the time Henry VIII split from the church in Rome (Taverner, Sampson), The Queen’s Six and The Rose Consort of Viols explore this period with a collection of works that tell a story of the ways in which these composers managed to survive troubled times indeed.