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Views from the Choir Loft

The “Cantiones Sacrae” of William Byrd & Thomas Tallis

Fr. David Friel · October 30, 2016

HIS MONTH I attended a wonderful lecture by the eminent church historian, Eamon Duffy. Dr. Duffy is undoubtedly most famous for his 1992 book, The Stripping of the Altars: Traditional Religion in England, 1400-1580, which revolutionized his field’s understanding of Tudor English piety.

The lecture was hosted at The Catholic University of America, which presented Duffy with the Johannes Quasten Medal, an annual academic award presented by the university’s School of Theology and Religious Studies. The title of the lecture was “Praying the Counter-Reformation in Elizabethan England,” and its focus was the tradition of vernacular prayer manuals in Britain before and after Trent.

What interested me most, however, was a brief aside mentioned in the lecture. Duffy brought up the joint project published by William Byrd and Thomas Tallis in 1575. This collaborative work is commonly known as the Cantiones sacrae (although the formal title is actually Cantiones quae ab argumento sacrae vocantur). Written in honor of the seventeenth year of Queen Elizabeth’s reign, the collection features 17 motets from each of the two composers.

Historically, the Cantiones sacrae were a financial failure. In his lecture, Duffy suggested a theory for why they were not a successful publication. He began by noting the titles of some of the motets:

Libera me, Domine, de morte aeterna

Miserere mihi Domine

Tribune Domine

Te deprecor

Da mihi auxilium

Domine secundum actum meum

Memento homo

O lux beata Trinitas

If one examines the texts of these and the other motets in the collection, Duffy argued, it becomes apparent that they reflect some very Catholic themes. In particular, the theme of prayer for the dead recurs in several of the pieces; another clear theme is God’s mercy as it applies to the works of man. Duffy made the point that these rather Catholic texts may serve as an explanation for why the Cantiones sacrae were not well received in the post-Reformation period during which they were published.

This theory is especially believable in light of the scholarly research showing that Byrd grew increasingly active with Catholicism beginning in the early 1570’s. Queen Elizabeth is said to have mostly overlooked Byrd’s Catholicism. The failure of his 1575 collection, however, shows that it was perhaps not overlooked by the contemporary music market.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel is a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and serves as Director of Liturgy at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary. —(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. However, on the feasts website, the chants have been posted for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C), which is this coming Sunday: 6 July 2025.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Bugnini’s Statement (6 November 1966)
    With each passing day, more is revealed about how the enemies of the liturgy accomplished their goals. For instance, Hannibal Bugnini deeply resented the way Vatican II said Gregorian Chant “must be given first place in liturgical services.” On 6 November 1966, his cadre wrote a letter attempting to justify the elimination of Gregorian Chant with this brazen statement: “What really gives a Mass its tone is not so much the songs as it is the prayers and readings.” Bugnini’s cadre then attacked the very heart of Gregorian Chant (viz. the Proprium Missae), bemoaning how the Proprium Missae “is completely new each Sunday and feast day.” There is much more to be said about this topic. Stay tuned.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Luis Martínez Must Go!
    Sevilla Cathedral (entry dated 13 December 1564): The chapter orders Luis Martínez, a cathedral chaplain, to stay away from the choirbook-stand when the rest of the singers gather around it to sing polyphony—the reason being that “he throws the others out of tune.” [Excerpt from “The Life of Father Francisco Guerrero.”]
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

“Now we are aware of the fact that during recent years some artists, gravely offending against Christian piety, have dared to bring into churches works devoid of any religious inspiration and completely at variance with the right rules of art.”

— Ven. Pope Pius XII (25 December 1955)

Recent Posts

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  • Now Available! • “Hymns of Cardinal Newman: Kevin Allen’s Legendary Choral Settings”
  • Bugnini’s Statement (6 November 1966)

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