Cantiones quae ab argumento sacrae vocantur

One of the first sets of sacred music printed in England, the Cantiones Sacrae were a joint publication by William Byrd and Thomas Tallis. The dedication to Queen Elizabeth was intended both in gratitude for her granting the composers the sole right to publish music in England, and to mark the 17th year of her reign. To this end, each composer contributed 17 pieces to the collection (although some separate numbering of sections of longer works was required to reach this total). In spite of the composers' initial optimism, the venture was a commercial failure, few copies being sold either at home or in Europe.

At the time of publication, Byrd was about 35 and had recently returned to London from a post in Lincoln; Tallis was about 70. The collection contains relatively new pieces as well as those written some years previously.

Contents of the Cantiones of 1575:

1 Salvator mundi I 2 Absterge Domine 3 In manus tuas (Tallis)

4 Emendemus in melius 5 Libera me Domine et pone me 6 Peccantem me quotidie (Byrd)

7 Mihi autem nimis 8 O nata lux 9 O sacrum convivium (Tallis)

10 Aspice Domine 11 Attolite portas 12 O lux beata Trinitas (Byrd)

13 Derelinquit impius 14 Dum transisset Sabbatum 15 Honor virtus et potestas 16 Sermone blando (Tallis)

17 Laudate pueri 18 Memento homo 19 Siderum rector (Byrd)

20 Te lucis ante terminum 21 Salvator mundi II 22 Candidi facti sunt (Tallis)

23 Da mihi auxilium 24 Domine secundum actum meum 25 Diliges Dominum (Byrd)

26 In ieiunio et fletu 27-28 Suscipe quaeso Domine - Si enim iniquitatis (Tallis)

29 Miserere mihi Domine 30-32 Tribue Domine - Te deprecor - Gloria Patri 33 Libera me Domine de morte aeterna (Byrd)

34 Miserere nostri (Tallis)

--DaveF 04:51, 22 January 2006 (PST)