William Byrd "Agnus Dei - Mass for five voices"

William Byrd (c. 1540 4 July 1623) was an English composer of the Renaissance. He cultivated many of the forms current in England at the time, including various types of sacred and secular polyphony, keyboard and consort music.

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A special feature of the four-part and five-part Masses is Byrd's treatment of the Agnus Dei, which employ the technique which Byrd had previously applied to the petitionary clauses from the motets of the 1589 and 1591 Cantiones sacrae. The final words dona nobis pacem ('grant us peace'), which are set to chains of anguished suspensions in the Four-Part Mass and expressive block homophony in the five-part setting almost certainly reflect the aspirations of the troubled Catholic community of the 1590s.

AGNUS DEI

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona nobis pacem.

Lamb of God, who took away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us.
Lamb of God, who took away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us.
Lamb of God, who took away the sins of the world, grant us peace.

Performed : The Tallis Scholars
Dir : Peter Phillips

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Image : Detail of a 13th century window from Chartres Cathedral.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• William
• Byrd
• Agnus
• Dei
• Mass
• for
• five
• voices

[jlmadill]

Bird is the word.

[StGroovy]

This is certainly the greatest and most important piece of music in the sixteenth century, including the music of Palestrina

[TheIzzyblind]

Melhor Compositor Renascentirsta,na minha opinião .

Louize.

[williameigen]

@mephistofleas A very nice Turn, which I shared with friends who I think will share in its' spirit. Thank you.

[bellalupina]

Meraviglioso!!!

Che suono pieno ed elegante. Grazie!

Col mio ensemble stiamo preparando questa messa ed è un piacere cantarla. Certo, non con questo risultato : ( , ma si sa, l'importante è cominciare...

[omGOP3]

absolutely wonderful- well done

[Ballerkid17]

BA BA BA Bird bird bird. ba birds the word.

[CutiiMelanyja351]

hÎhi_í_fêÈl_sO_löÑÊlý_t0dÄy

[carrierasquinha]

Very soothing for when I need to concentrate. Thank you for posting

[pfl1953]

the first comment is hyperbolic. this is rich, but i actually prefer the mass for 3 voices. just as there's no tallis without allegri, there's no byrd without palestrina. arguing about greatest is a pissing context. the 2 byrd masses, palestrina's missa papae marcelli, some of allegri, some of vittoria, and tallis' spem in alium are all magnificent. basta, cosi, no?

[pedantologist]

It's the word.