Thomas Tallis and William Byrd were influential English composers during the Tudor era. Tallis composed the motet "Laudate Dominum" for five voices, which followed strict counterpoint and used techniques like diminution. Byrd composed the antiphon "O Sacrum Convivium" which featured double imitation between voices with points of imitation placed to complete phrases and begin new text sections. Both composers skillfully employed counterpoint and imitation between voices in their sacred pieces composed during the Protestant Reformation in England.

1. Tallis and Byrd
COMPARISON OF TWO WORKS DURING THE TUDOR ERA
By Adan A. Fernandez

2. House of Tudor
1485-1603
1. Wars of the Rose (1455-1487)
1. Name comes from Shakespeare
2. Lancastrian Dynasty (red rose) versus the Yorkist Dynasty
(white rose)
1. Both can be traced back to Plantagenet Dynasty of the 12th century
3. Back and forth fights to decide ruler of England
4. Battle of Bosworth Field (1485)
1. Henry VII of the Lancastrian Dynasty
2. Richard III of the Yorkist
5. Henry VII originally Henry Tudor, traced lineage back to a
queen who had taken on a lover Jaspar Tudor, a man of the
court
6. Lancastrian dynasty wins (Tudor dynasty)
7. Henry VII marries Elizabeth of York and creates the Tudor rose
(on left)
8. The lineage to Henry VIII creates a weak claim to the through
as the lineage is traced back to the queen
1. Male progeny becomes more important
Tudor Rose

3. House of Tudor
1485-1603
Tudor Rose

4. System of Tuning
of 16th century
England
Meantone temperament, system of tuning keyboard
instruments, most prevalent from the early 16th century
through the 18th century. Meantone temperament was
oriented around major thirds (a musical interval, such as C–E,
covering four semitones). Keyboards were tuned so that the
major third would be the same distance in pitch from (i.e.,
halfway between) the outer two pitches (e.g., the root and
the fifth). Meantone tuning accomplished this by flattening
the fifth (by roughly 5.38 cents), making it slightly smaller
than a natural fifth. When a series of four meantone fifths
was tuned (C–G; G–d; d–a; a–e′) and the excess octaves (here,
between C and e′) were removed, the result was a pure, or
natural, major third (c–e′).
This resulted in compositional techniques that strived to have
the third as part of chord structures, thereby easing the
dissonant lowered 5th.
Meantone temperament
HTTPS://WWW.BRITANNICA.COM/ART/MEANTONE-TEMPERAMENT

5. Thomas Tallis (1505-1585)
Life
Employed at Canterbury Cathedral
Served under Henry the VIII, Edward the Vi,
Mary Tudor, and Elizabeth I
Avoided religious controversy
Both Tallis and Byrd petitioned the queen for
additional income
The queen conceded in 1575 by granting them
an exclusive license to print and publish music
Music
Tallis was very flexible in translating English to
Latin
Moved to a less florid style during the reign o
Henry VIII in the 1530s
Strict counterpoint
PAUL DOE AND DAVID ALLINSON. "TALLIS, THOMAS." GROVE MUSIC ONLINE. OXFORD MUSIC
ONLINE. OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, ACCESSED AUGUST 29, 2017,
HTTP://WWW.OXFORDMUSICONLINE.COM.LIBPROXY1.USC.EDU/SUBSCRIBER/ARTICLE/GROVE/MU
SIC/27423.

6. Laudate
Dominum
(Psalm 116)
Motet for Five Voices
 Follows strict counterpoint
of sequential consonant intervals
and successive leaps that get
smaller.
 Leaps are often followed by
step in the reverse direction.

7. Laudate
Dominum
1. Flemish imitative style
2. Laudate Dominum, omnes gentes: laudate, eum, omnes
populi (m.1-m.19)
1. Alto entrance on C hexachord (m.1)
2. Soprano entrance on F hexachord (m.2)
3. Tenor entrance on F hexachord (m.4)
4. Bass entrace on C hexachord (m.6)
5. 2nd alto entrance on C hexachord (m.7)
3. Quoniam confirmata est super nos misericordia ejus
(m.20-m.35)
1. Treble entrance on G hexachord, descending (m.20)
2. 1st alto entrance on G hexachord, ascending (m.20)
3. 2nd alto entrance on G hexachord, descending (m.21)
4. Tenor entrance on G hexachord, descending (m.25)
5. Bass entrance on G hexachord, descending (m.26)
(Psalm 116)
Motet for Five Voices
 Uses diminution and
augmentation for sequential
entrances (m.7)
 Uses longer note entrances
to contrast with other passages
of shorter note values

8. Laudate
Dominum
1. Et veritas Domini manet in auternum (m. 44-m.55)
1. 2nd alto entrance on C hexachord (m.44)
2. Tenor entrance on F hexachord (m.44)
3. 1st alto entrance on F hexachord (m.44)
4. Bass entrance on C hexachord (m.45)
2. Gloria Patri et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto (m.56-m.67)
1. 1st alto and 2nd alto entrance duet on D hexachord and G
hexachord (m.56)
2. Treble and tenor entrance duet on D hexachord (m.57) and G
hexachord (m.57)
3. Bass entrance on C hexachord (m.59)
3. Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper (m.66-m.73)
1. Alto entrance on C hexachord (m.66)
2. Bass entrance on C hexachord (m.67)
3. Tenor entrance on G hexachord (m.67)
4. 2nd alto entrance on C hexachord (m.67)
5. Treble entrance on G hexachord (m.68)
(Psalm 116)
Motet for Five Voices
 Musical phrases tend to be more
contained. Contour of musical
phrases tend to return to starting
Place.

9. Laudate
Dominum
1. Et semper, et in saecula saeculorum (m.73-m.96)
1. Treble entrance on C hexachord (m.73)
2. 1st and 2nd alto entrance duet on C hexachord (m.73)
3. Tenor entrance on F hexachord (m.78)
4. Bass entrance on C hexachord (m.81)
2. Amen saeculorum. Amen (m96-m.102)
1. Treble entrance on C hexachord (m.96)
2. 2nd alto entrance on F hexachord (m.96)
3. 1st alto entrance on F hexachord (m.96)
4. Bass entrance on F hexachord (m.96)
5. Tenor entrance on C hexachord (m.97)
(Psalm 116)
Motet for Five Voices

10. William Byrd (c. 1543-1623)
Upbringing
1. Born in London
2. Likely to have studied with Tallis
3. Likely to have been brought up in the
Chapel Royal
Catholicism
1. Closely associated with Jesuits
2. Queen Elizabeth I was Byrd’s benefactor
1. “In 1575, she granted Byrd and Tallis a
patent for the printing and marketing of
part-music and lined music paper, a trade
with only a very limited history in England up
to that time.”
3. Many of Byrd’s closest patrons were
Catholic
1. Paget was Byrd’s first major patron and
provided him an annuity
JOSEPH KERMAN AND KERRY MCCARTHY. "BYRD, WILLIAM." GROVE MUSIC ONLINE. OXFORD
MUSIC ONLINE. OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, ACCESSED AUGUST 28, 2017,
HTTP://WWW.OXFORDMUSICONLINE.COM.LIBPROXY1.USC.EDU/SUBSCRIBER/ARTICLE/GROVE/
MUSIC/04487.

11. O Sacrum
Convivium
1. Double Imitation: imitation based on a subject which,
being moulded distinctively to two text fragments, breaks
down into two sub-themes which can be developed and
combined freely
Antiphon to the Magnificat at 2nd
Vespers of Corpus Christi
JOSEPH KERMAN AND KERRY MCCARTHY. "BYRD, WILLIAM." GROVE MUSIC ONLINE. OXFORD
MUSIC ONLINE. OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, ACCESSED AUGUST 28, 2017,
HTTP://WWW.OXFORDMUSICONLINE.COM.LIBPROXY1.USC.EDU/SUBSCRIBER/ARTICLE/GROVE/
MUSIC/04487.
 Points of imitation are placed in
order to complete the phrase and/or
begin the new text.
Example: The alto sings convivium
twice in order to bring the phrase to
an end and possibly help with the
intonation of the treble entrance at
the fourth measure.

12. O Sacrum
Convivium
Antiphon to the Magnificat at 2nd
Vespers of Corpus Christi
COLLINS, H. B., ED. O SACRUM CONVIVIUM. CHESTER MUSIC, 1926. ACCESSED AUGUST 28,
2017.
HTTP://SEARCH.ALEXANDERSTREET.COM/VIEW/WORK/BIBLIOGRAPHIC_ENTITY%7CSCORE%7C2
443258.
 Points of imitation are placed in
order to complete the phrase and/or
begin the new text.
Example: The bass sings gratia twice
in the second system in order to
provide a more satisfying cadence
and to help with the intonation
of the soprano entrance at C.

13. O Sacrum
Convivium
1. O Sacrum convivium in quo Christus sumi tur (m.1- 14)
1. Treble A hexachord entrance (m. 1)
2. Alto D dexachord entrance (m. 2)
3. Tenor A hexachord entrance (m. 2)
4. Bass D hexachord entrance (m.3)
2. Recolitur memoria passionis ejus: mens impletur gratia (m. 15-32)
1. Treble and alto entrance in duet (m. 15)
1. Treble entrance on E hexachord with mutation to A hexachord
2. Alto entrance on A hexachord with mutation to E hexachord
2. Tenor entrance on A hexachord (m. 16)
3. Bass entrance on D hexachord or possibly on E hexahord with mutation
to D hexachord (m. 17)
3. Et futurae gloriae nobis pignus datur. (m. 32-50)
1. Treble entrance on A hexachord (m. 32)
2. Tenor entrance on D hexachord (m. 33)
3. Alto entrance on D hexachord (m. 34)
4. Bass entrance on D hexachord (m. 35)
4. Alleluia (m. 51-56)
1. Treble and tenor start on A hexachord (m. 51)
2. Alto starts on E hexachord (m. 51)
3. Bass starts on D hexachord (m. 51)
Antiphon to the Magnificat at 2nd
Vespers of Corpus Christi