William Byrd Essay

1. When and where was the composer born?

William Byrd was born in London, England around 1540 or 1543. His date of birth is uncertain because in his will that he wrote in 1622 he described himself as eighty years old but in a document written in 1598 he described himself as fifty-eight years old. He is best known for his work on English madrigals and was also an organist and composer during the Shakespearean age. He also wrote organ and virginal music that took the English keyboard style to new heights.

2. When and where did the composer die?

William Byrd died in England on July 4, 1623, according to the Julian calendar, or July 14, 1623, according to the Gregorian calendar, in Stondon Massey, Essex, England.

3. Describe the composer’s early

Becoming Gentleman allowed Byrd to expand his talents as a composer and gave him opportunities to make contacts in Court, like Queen Elizabeth. In 1575, William Byrd and Thomas Tallis were granted a patent to print music which allowed them to print music for 21 years. Together they published the Cantiones quae ab argumento sacrae vocantur, a collection of 34 Latin motets dedicated to the Queen. They each wrote 17 motets about the Queen, one for every year of her reign. In 1577, William Byrd and his family moved to a town outside of London, which was Harlington, Middlesex. He was a Roman Catholic and had many friends who were also Catholics that had participated in activities that could only be described as treason, but he never got in trouble himself for being Catholic. In 1583, Byrd got himself into serious trouble when he was found sending money to Catholics abroad. As a result they suspended his membership at the Chapel Royal, his house was put on the search list, and his movements were restricted. In 1589, 1591, and 1592, Byrd published the Cantiones sacrae which contained 37 motets. Byrd composed more instrumental music during the 1580s. In his early fifties William Byrd was in a semi-retirement from the Chapel Royal. His family moved to Standon Massey, a small village in Essex, where he wrote polyphonic music for the surrounding Catholic country houses. At the insistence of his friends William Byrd set out to write liturgical music for all the feasts of the Catholic Church calendar. The first stage involved the three Ordinary of the Mass cycles and the second stage involved the Gradualia, which consisted of two motets that had 109