In 16th century England, Henry VIII instigated a dramatic split from the Catholic Church that controlled much of his country. As a result of his English Reformation, the religious music he loved dearly would fundamentally transform.
In the documentary Queen Elizabeth I’s Battle for Church Music, host Lucy Worsley (Secrets of the Six Wives; Mozart in London) investigates Queen Elizabeth I’s personal story and the influence of her father’s actions on her and her two siblings.
A witness to her radically puritan brother bringing church music to the brink of destruction and her sister’s dangerous plan for re-establishing Catholicism, Queen Elizabeth I was determined to find a compromise.
Following Queen Elizabeth I’s journey to power, Queen Elizabeth I’s Battle for Church Music captures how a tumultuous and violent era resulted in a remarkable creation that changed the religious structure of England forever — choral evensong.
Queen Elizabeth I’s Battle for Church Music airs Thursday, August 12 at 10 p.m. on WSBE Rhode Island PBS.
WSBE Rhode Island PBS transmits over the air in high definition on digital 36.1; Cox 08 / 1008HD, Verizon FiOS 08 / 508HD, and Full Channel 08; Comcast 819HD and Verizon FiOS 18 / 518HD in MA; DirecTV 36, Dish Network 36. Live stream the full broadcast schedule at watch.ripbs.org/livestream.
