The sixteenth century was a time of religious upheaval in England. From Henry VIII's protestant reformation through Queen Mary's staunch but short-lived Catholic revival to the return of Anglicanism in Elizabethan times, it would have required careful diplomacy for a Roman Catholic like Thomas Tallis simply to stay alive. In fact he became the most respected composer of his generation and is now recognised as one of the country's greatest composers.
2005 was the five hundredth anniversary of Thomas Tallis' birth and his genius is celebrated in this collection of English-texted sacred music, selected and edited by Jeremy Summerly to provide an invaluable source of introits and anthems for choirs. The volume contains: If You Love Me * Hear the Voice and Prayer * A New Commandment * O Lord, Give They Holy Spirit * I Call and Cry to Thee, O Lord * With All Our Heart * Discomfit Them, O Lord * Why Fumeth in Sight (the theme upon which Ralph Vaughan Williams based his Fantasia).
If you are interested in this volume why not look at these other titles in the choral programme series: Fair Oriana (ed. Jeremy Summerly), Musicke's Praier (ed. Tim Brown) and Passetime with good company (ed. Jeremy Summerley).