New RSCM Classics edition, edited with performance notes by Gordon Appleton. An essential part of every choir's repertoire! This excellent, 'standard' edition is helpfully and clearly laid out, and tranposed into Gm for ease of singing. This motet was published in 1605 in the Gradualia, a collection of music for catholic liturgical use. That same year was the discovery of the Gunpowder Plot: a time of strained relations in England between protestants and catholics. It is well known that Byrd was a devout catholic, although through the enlightened patronage of Queen Elizabeth I, he was able to work within the English church in several important positions. Many regard this short composition as one of the finest of all Byrd’s works.
