‘The Virgin Queen’ Elizabeth I was the focal-point of all England; the subject, dedicatee and audience for much of the music composed and performed throughout her long and now legendary reign. The music on this album, chosen for a concert of words and music devised for the Sarum Consort by Deborah Mackay, includes sacred and secular pieces by composers from Byrd to Weelkes. The Sarum Consort, whose performances have been hailed as ‘exhilarating’ (Gramophone) and ‘magical’ (BBC Radio 3 Record Review), here makes its Naxos début under founding musical director Andrew Mackay.