William Byrd summary

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Below is the article summary. For the full article, see William Byrd.

William Byrd, (born 1543, Lincoln, Lincolnshire?, Eng.—died July 4, 1623, Stondon Massey, Essex), British composer. He studied under Thomas Tallis and was appointed organist of Lincoln Cathedral at age 20. In 1572 he became organist of the Chapel Royal, sharing the post with Tallis. In 1575 the two men received from Elizabeth I the exclusive license for the printing and selling of music in Britain. Though repeatedly prosecuted as a Roman Catholic, Byrd remained in favour with the queen. He is renowned as Britain’s finest composer of sacred choral works, as well as for his keyboard music and songs. His works include three masses (for three, four, and five voices), some 220 Latin motets, four important Anglican services, and some 60 anthems, as well as some 100 virginal pieces (many preserved in the collections Parthenia and The Fitzwilliam Virginal Book).

madrigal Summary

Madrigal, form of vocal chamber music that originated in northern Italy during the 14th century, declined and all but disappeared in the 15th, flourished anew in the 16th, and ultimately achieved international status in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. The origin of the term madrigal is

motet Summary

Motet, (French mot: “word”), style of vocal composition that has undergone numerous transformations through many centuries. Typically, it is a Latin religious choral composition, yet it can be a secular composition or a work for soloist(s) and instrumental accompaniment, in any language, with or

song Summary

Song, piece of music performed by a single voice, with or without instrumental accompaniment. Works for several voices are called duets, trios, and so on; larger ensembles sing choral music. Speech and music have been combined from earliest times; music heightens the effect of words, allowing them

organ Summary

Organ, in music, a keyboard instrument, operated by the player’s hands and feet, in which pressurized air produces notes through a series of pipes organized in scalelike rows. The term organ encompasses reed organs and electronic organs but, unless otherwise specified, is usually understood to