During the Elizabethan period, recusant Catholics celebrated the feast of Christmas in secret. One place they met was
Ingatestone Hall in Essex, where this programme was recorded. William Byrd was frequently present, and his mass settings might first have been heard there with a few singers performing in a small room.
Byrd Mass for three voices; Christmas propers from Gradualia Andrew Carwood (celebrant) Nonsuch Consort, director John Milsom