Over the course of his life, Byrd composed both Anglican and Catholic service music, as well as instrumental compositions. One of my favorite compositions by this recusant is his five-voice motet Vigilate. It is a responsory utilizing Our Lord’s words: “Watch ye therefore, for you know not when the lord of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cock crowing, or in the morning.”
This was written under a monarchy where priests—and the Catholics who supported them—went in fear of the knock of temporal lords and their henchmen, even as the faithful assisted at the coming of their heavenly Lord on the altar in the darkness of night. Persecution, sorrow, and watchfulness: the tension of the music is surely a commentary on the stress Byrd and his fellow believers experienced.
Read Full Article »