Even in an era so richly stocked with great names,
William Byrd demands particular attention as the most
prodigiously talented, prolific, and versatile composer
of his generation, and together with his continental
colleagues Giovanni Palestrina and Orlando de Lassus,
one of the acknowledged great masters of the late
Renaissance, due to his substantial volume of
high-quality compositions in every genre of the time.
Byrd's pre-eminent position at the beginning of music
publication in England allow...(+)
Even in an era so richly stocked with great names,
William Byrd demands particular attention as the most
prodigiously talented, prolific, and versatile composer
of his generation, and together with his continental
colleagues Giovanni Palestrina and Orlando de Lassus,
one of the acknowledged great masters of the late
Renaissance, due to his substantial volume of
high-quality compositions in every genre of the time.
Byrd's pre-eminent position at the beginning of music
publication in England allowed him to leave a
significant printed legacy at the inception of many
important musical forms. It would be impossible to
overestimate his subsequent influence on the music of
England, the Low Countries, and Germany. Byrd was a
Roman Catholic, and in addition to the church music
that he composed for the Anglican services, he wrote
Masses and liturgical music for the Catholic Church. He
was also a composer of motets, polyphonic songs, and
keyboard and consort music.
Byrd was born about 1540, and it is assumed that he was
a chorister in the Chapel Royal (his brothers were
choristers at St. Paul's Cathedral) and a student of
Thomas Tallis. He certainly was a close friend of
Tallis', as they worked closely together, and Byrd's
second son was the godson of Tallis. Byrd was named
organist and master of choristers of Lincoln Cathedral
at the age of 20, where he wrote most of his English
sacred music. In 1570 he was appointed a Gentleman of
the Chapel Royal, where he shared the post of organist
with Tallis. Queen Elizabeth I, despite Byrd's intense
commitment to Catholicism, was one of his benefactors,
and granted him and Tallis a patent to print music in
1575. Their first publication was a collection of five-
to eight-part, Latin motets, but they published little
else. Around the same time, Byrd began composing for
the virginal. His contribution to the solo keyboard
repertoire comprises some 125 pieces, mostly stylized
dances or exceptionally inventive sets of variations
that inaugurated a golden age of English keyboard
composition. Many of these pieces are found in one of
two manuscripts: My Ladye Nevells Booke and the
Fitzwilliam Virginal Book. In 1573 he became a
permanent member of the Chapel Royal. Byrd contributed
heavily to the developing genre of the English anthem,
including the newer "verse" style with organ
accompaniment, composing his widely regarded Great
Service in this format. However, during the 1580s and
1590s, Byrd's Catholicism was the driving force for his
music. As the persecution of Catholics increased during
this period, and occasionally touched on Byrd and his
family, he wrote and openly published music for
Catholic services. This was inaugurated in 1575 with
the volume of Cantiones Sacrae, a joint collection with
Tallis.
Upon Tallis' death in 1585, the publishing monopoly
became entirely Byrd's, and he took it up again in
earnest, printing the first English songbook, Psalmes,
Sonets and Songs, in 1588. This and his other songbooks
include Byrd's compositions in the leading secular
genres of the day: the ayre or lute song, the madrigal,
and the consort song for solo voice and viols. The
consort song's finest hour came at his hands. He
preferred texts of a high moral (frequently religious)
or metaphysical tone. They are notable for the way the
viol parts lead an existence independent of the vocal
line. Although the first Cantiones was not especially
successful, Byrd followed it up with two more
collections in 1589 and 1591 that represent the most
significant English contribution to the motet
repertory. Byrd also composed three Latin Masses (for
three, four, and five voices) during the period
1591-1593. These are unusual not only because they
could no longer overtly have a liturgical function, but
also because they include settings of the "Kyrie" --
something not previously done in English mass
composition. He published two Gradualia, in 1605 and
1607, with music for all the major Catholic feast days.
His last collection, Psalmes, Songs and Sonnets from
1611, consisted mostly of previously published works,
but did include two of his viol consort works. Byrd was
at his most distinguished in the "In Nomine" fantasias
for consort, particularly the later pieces in five and
six parts, works of exceptionally luxurious texture.
The Parthenia, a collection of virginal pieces by John
Bull, Orlando Gibbons, and Byrd, was also published in
1611. Byrd's last songs were published in a collection
in 1614. He lived out his life comfortably at Stondon
Massey, where he died in 1623.
Although originally composed for Chorus (AATTB), I
created this arrangement of "O Rex gloriae, Domine
virtutum" (O King of glory, Lord of all power) for Wind
Quintet (Flute, Oboe, English Horn, French Horn &
Bassoon).
PARTITION