Parsons, R.: First Great Service / Responds for the Dead

In the mid-16th century, when English King Edward VI ushered in the Protestant Reformation, it became the duty of court composers to initiate a new style of church music written in English. Robert Parsons was there and undertook the assignment, producing his First Service using texts taken from the king’s prayer book. This recording includes extracts from that work, along with several liturgical pieces in Latin and his magisterial Magnificat setting.