Please can you identify facts about William Byrd:



The boring blurb copied from the other thread:

Do you know anything about him? Please post below.

I am especially interested in:
- Era he composed in
- Styles he wrote in
- Names of famous pieces
- How to recognise some Tallis music if I heard it
- His birth/death dates
- Any other significant dates during his life
- Was he early/middle/late of the era?

Note, I do not want a huge biography. I have to be remember these, so I need short, sharp facts. I don't need to know what his pet dog was called or how he liked his hair biggrin.gif laugh.gif

So, on your marks, get set, GO

1543 - 1623
at least 50 years of his life occupied in composition,

Younger generation of musicians looked up to him as a towering figure.
Organist of Lincoln Cathedral from 1563 for nearly 10 years, then a gentleman of the chapel royal.

Masses for 3, 4 and voices. his sympathies were with the Latin rather than with the English rite.
Settings of the evening service, responses and other music for the church.

Thankyou

Many of Byrd's settings of sacred English words were published in three sets of vocal compositions which also include secular works -
Psalmes, Sonnets and Songs of Sadness and Pietie (isn't that lovely!) 1588,

Songs of Sundrie Natures (1589)

Psalmes Songs and Sonnets (1611)

William Byrd was a pupil and presumably a friend of Tallis, as they both worked together as organists at the Chapel Royal and as music publishers after being granted a license for this by Elizabeth 1st. Like Tallis, Byrd was a Catholic but also like Tallis he managed to write for the Protestant Church, and also for the Catholic Church which he would have needed to keep far more private. He wrote a huge amount of keyboard music also including the well known pavan, The Earl of Salisbury. His keyboard works are interesting as they are some of the first virtuoso works for the harpsichord, and many copied his ideas in their own keyboard writings. His dated are approx 1540 to 1623.

A large part of Byrd's keyboard music is contained in two volumes -
The Fitzwilliam Virginal book, and
My Ladye Nevell's Booke of Virginal Music.

He and his wife were fined for recusancy several times.

Much of his Latin music written for personal worship.

"What I have written are not misprints": many discords that get resolved - not unusual to our ears but Byrd was at cutting edge of new music.

Fellowes: "He not only excelled in every branch of music comp in his own day, but ventured into new paths hitherto untrodden: and in every branch he met with success at least as conspicuous as that attained by his contemporaries...The largeness of his output, even apart from its exceptional merit, gives it a degree of imp which cannot pass unnoticed."

Grout: "[his three Masses] are beyond doubt the finest Masses written by an Eng C."

Sadie: " He was described as 'Father of Brit Music' [Britanniae Musicae Parens], justified by his fertile imagination & by the consistently high quality of his music."

He seems like an interesting character.

Any recommendations of any of his major works?

Sing Joyfully (anthem in 6 parts)

Ave Verum

The Great service

Five part Mass

Ne irascaris (Lord in thy wrath)

140 kbd pieces - My Ladye Nevell's Booke (1591) & Fitzwilliam Virginal Book.

egs The Earl of Salisbury, The Carman's Whistle and Wolsey's Wild.

Thankyou again!

Equally important as composer of secular music. With exception of lute music, there are surviving egs of virtually every mu form current during his lifetime.

Scholes: "He wrote church mu, mu for viols, kbd mu, and sec choral mu all of the finest quality, in some egs (esp of his sacred choral mu) reaching sublimity."

Mu = music?

Yes, sorry. I've done my notes on composers and forms with lots of abbreviations. I sometimes forget to take them away when I type them up here.

That's ok! Which composers do you have on your "Have you met" page?

Pavan for the Earl of Salisbury...

Played this on Clarinet with a large-ish wind band - a really beautiful piece!!

Gibbons, Gershwin, Elgar, Rachmaninoff. I'm starting to do them in Publisher now and now transfer the page to my site as a jpeg. Satie is next - hopefully I'll finish it over half-term. There are so many great composers that people should spend time reading about, listening to and playing/singing!

What's recusancy? I like this idea of a composer a week!

"refusal to submit to established authority; originally the refusal of Roman Catholics to attend services of the Church of England"

Thanks

You'll find a couple of Byrd pieces played on the harpsichord on the recordings site, courtesy of YAP. Nice!

Recusancy sounds like a good idea to me!

Depends which side of the line you're on! Byrd was treading a very fine line line, being a practicing Catholic and writing music for the Catholic church during the reign of Elizabeth I. Writing for the fledgling Anglican church, and being a favourite of Elizabeth, was probably what kept his head attached to his neck.

They've been mentioned before, but I'll mention them again - the three, four and five part masses are well worth a listen (and a sing!).

Do you have any plans for your next composer? Are you staying with the English ones or going overseas now? Please choose......I am enjoying these threads.

Ummmm, do we need another Renaissance composer? Or what about an early Baroquian? (made up word!)

Sorry it's late!

Oooh, thanks!

Perhaps Palestrina or Monteverdi next?

Either sound good. Maybe Monteverdi?

Chronologically it is Claudio!

Who's Claudio?

Monteverdi

Oh

Let's do him then