Papers > Music > Discuss the relationship between Byrds sacred music and his religious beliefs Illustrate your answer with examples
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Discuss the relationship between Byrds sacred music and his religious beliefs Illustrate your answer with examples
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... In the incredibly changeable and often punishing era in which he lived, which coincided with the reigns of Mary Tudor, Elizabeth I and James I, he did not once compromise his religious beliefs, even when faced directly with the law of the land. Despite persecution, punishment and, at times, the constant threat of arrest, he continued to write music that would honour his unshakable Catholicism. ... The monarch at the time, Mary Tudor, being stubborn in her distaste for ‘the excesses of Protestant austerity under her predecessor Edward VI’ (McCarthy), was (thankfully for Byrd) very partial to elaborate Latin church music, which Byrd seems to have thrived on. ... He also wrote a considerable amount of Anglican music for the Chapel Royal, including the Great and Second Services, and numerous anthems such as Sing Joyfully. ... ’ (McCarthy) All this considered, there is no denying that Byrd’s finest music arose from his covert loyalty to the Catholic faith. The three Catholic Masses, published between 1592 and 1595 (one each in three, four and five parts) are widely regarded as his finest works for the church. ...
We can tell much about Byrd’s personal approach and feelings towards Catholicism from a closer look at the music of the three Mass settings of 1592-95. ... The music of all three Masses is relatively simple, especially in those for three and four parts, with usually no more than a note per syllable, very little word repetition and fairly simple harmony. This reflects the purity of Byrds faith and suggests a simple, pious supplication to his God. Another side effect of this simplicity is that it renders the music deeply personal, and it is almost ‘as if he reserved for these secretive works the expression of his innermost religious feelings’ (Anonymous biography). Although Byrd was not prone in these settings to emotional exploitation or obvious examples of word painting, the ‘dona nobis pacem’ passages from both the four and five part settings are ‘very well-placed exceptions’ (New Grove), particularly in the four-part setting, where he builds the voice parts from two to four, ‘writing in pure and serene consonant harmony up to a final anguished plea for peace- the "Dona nobis pacem", with its almost unbearable series of dissonant suspensions only resolved to light on the final chord of the work’ (unknown source).
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Title: Discuss the relationship between Byrds sacred music and his religious beliefs Illustrate your answer with examples
Words: 1487
Rating: None
Pages: 5.9
submitted by: smiley192
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