Moroney is probably best known as an internationally renowned keyboardist and UC Berkeley professor, though his choral credentials are strong, as well; his Ph.D. dissertation was done on the vocal music of William Byrd and Thomas Tallis. He also shares Chalice Consort’s interest in uncovering new works, a fact vividly illustrated by his highly publicized discovery in 2005 of a 40- and 60-part mass by Alessandro Striggio, long presumed lost. For Chalice Consort, his program centers on the theme of concealment, presenting a series of pieces composed and performed under the shadow of political and religious strife.
Throughout his career, Byrd struggled to reconcile conflicts between his public duties and his private convictions. Although a member of Queen Elizabeth I’s prestigious Chapel Royal during the latter 16th century, he was himself a recusant Catholic living in a time of aggressive Protestant hegemony. As such, he had to toe the line carefully as a composer, lest he fall victim to the Catholic persecutions that were increasingly sweeping England. Moroney’s repertory highlights these tensions, with several pieces containing sacred texts but unsuited for liturgical performance in the Anglican church.
“The evening begins with the only secular piece in the program, placed as an invocation to the power of Music,” he observes. “We then trace Byrd’s public conformity and official acceptance of the state religion imposed by Queen Elizabeth; and his private music of political protest, in his motets of lamentation and outrage, which gave voice to an oppressed community who often saw themselves as martyrs for their religion. The program ends with serene pieces from Byrd’s private mission of solace in comfort of the bereaved and in memory of those who had died.”
Far from living in the past, Moroney eagerly draws historical parallels between Byrd’s struggles and those of our modern age. His program discussion is laden with contemporary references to ongoing conflicts in Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. “Byrd’s music reminds us there was a narrow middle way at a time when oppressive tyrannical actions were hidden under the mask of state religion, and private religious beliefs often caused feverish believers to engage in acts of terrorism, and when caught to be tortured and executed.” Heady stuff for an early-music concert, but well worth pondering. (For Moroney’s full commentary on the program, see the Chalice Web site.)