William
Byrd was known as 'the father English music': he was the last great English
composer of Catholic church music, as well as the first of the Elizabethan
‘golden' age of secular music. Under the Protestant reign of Elizabeth I, many
Catholics feared that they would be persecuted for their faith; Byrd's devout
Catholic beliefs, however, seem to have been largely tolerated by the Queen,
despite his close association with many Catholic recusants (those who refused
submit to Church of England dictates).
Little
is known about Byrd's early years. He may have been a pupil of Thomas Tallis in
London; the first authenticated records reveal him as organist and choirmaster
at Lincoln Cathedral in 1563. 1570 he was invited to join the Chapel Royal as a
singer, although he did not actually leave Lincoln to take up his post until two
years later. Even in London he continued to receive partial pay from the
cathedral in return for further compositions - of Anglican church music. In 1572
he was appointed organist of Chapel Royal, a position he initially; shared with
Thomas Tallis, and for the next 20 years or so Byrd remained in service at the
court. In 1575 he and Tallis were granted a royal monopoly on the printing and
selling of music.
During
a period of general persecution of Catholics in the late 1570s, Byrd moved out
of London with his family, and settled in Harlington, Middlesex. His wife,
Juliana, was listed for refusing to attend Church of England services, which at
that time was compulsory. In 1581 several Jesuits were executed. Byrd's house
was searched and he was fined for his beliefs, but he nonetheless
remained free. In the 1590’s, after Juliana's death and his second marriage,
he moved to Essex, where lived for the rest of his life.
Byrd's
music was as often dedicated to prominent Catholics as to Anglican patrons. His
music encompassed both instrumental and vocal works, secular and sacred,
Anglican and Catholic. He usually wrote his secular vocal music for solo
voice accompanied by viol consort (ensemble), rather than the lute preferred
by his contemporaries. His greatest instrumental music was for the viol, and he
also wrote about 150 pieces - often dance movements - for keyboards.
Byrd
wrote many Anglican church music settings, including anthems, but most sublime
music was composed to Latin texts (for the Catholic Church), such as the motet
for four voices, Ave verum corpus. His
three Masses for three, four and five voices, use the typical English technique
of imitation - melodic phrases repeated by different voices at various points in
a composition. This technique allowed a great deal of emotion to be expressed,
and in the case of Byrd's Masses - written for the private use of his fellow
Catholics, and relatively compressed - the emotion was that of a deeply felt religious
belief, a belief under attack: the music is powerful and austere, yet
essentially positive.
Sacred Choral Works
(including Ave verum corpus)
Masterpieces of the Renaissance, Volume 1 (other composers included as well)
Great Service
Come to me grief for ever
Masses for three, four and five voices
Pavans
Galliards
Complete Keyboard Works