Thomas Tallis and William Byrd were two other English composers who also wrote polyphony. When Henry VIII took over the Catholic Church, this kind of music went to the wayside. William Byrd stayed on after all of this beautiful music was decommissioned and his job, after writing some of the most amazing creations, was relegated to providing the pitches that the choir sang from.
Very interesting. Thanks.
Some of the same tonal quality as Alesandro Striggio’s Mass in 40 Parts. As Dick Clark would say: nice beat, hard to dance to.