March 2023

Wonderful William Byrd

by Peter Seibert

On July 4, 1623, William Byrd died and, with his death, so did the Elizabethan musical era. This year, as we observe the 400th anniversary of his death, it is a chance for recorder players to experience less familiar aspects of Byrd’s output. We are already familiar with some of his viol consort music that has been transcribed and adapted for recorders, but we are less likely to have played his wonderfully accessible choral repertory. Before addressing that, it is helpful to understand the context in which he composed choral music.

Having trained as a singer, composer, and organist, William Byrd wrote sacred music for both denominations.  He held a significant post as organist and music director at Lincoln Cathedral starting in 1563 and in the 1570s moved to the even more prestigious Chapel Royal, a performing institution that traveled with the court.

As a life-long Catholic, Byrd needed to keep a low religious profile, even though his religious preference was known.  He composed music for Anglican worship with English texts because, like most Protestant denominations, the worshipers needed to understand the text of pieces being sung.  The lines of his Catholic music often contained glorious multi-note melismas on single syllables and were, of course, set to Latin texts; the beauty of the sound was experienced by the parishioners even if the Latin text was not immediately understood.  Despite some stylistic differences between his two approaches to composition, Byrd’s music was still firmly Elizabethan.  As musicologist Joseph Kerman states, “although he composed steadily throughout Elizabeth’s reign and well into that of James, [Byrd] was essentially an early Elizabethan figure.”

In observance of the Byrd 400th, I have provided transcriptions of 13 of Byrd’s works for recorders with scores and separate parts, all available to ARS members free for download. Three of these are available for either higher or lower consort. At the end of this article are details about how to find these. Among them are eight choral works.

Why consider Byrd’s choral music? First, it is approachable and easy to play on recorders. It also gives a chance for recorder players to move away from thinking about wind instrument articulations as described by theorists like dalla Casa; those long melismas offer a chance to find the smoothest rendition to reflect how singers themselves performed the music. As one plays, the luxurious interplay of the parts becomes apparent. And importantly, Byrd’s choral music well performed can seem transcendent. 

Markdavin Obenza, conductor of the famous Byrd Ensemble, says, “For me, Byrd’s versatility is what makes him a genius… By the end of Byrd’s life, we are left with a beautifully varied oeuvre filled with masterpieces. No other composer writes as well for the voice.” 



Obenza continues, “Phrases are manageable, not too long, but incredibly effective. Each line seems to come out of the texture naturally.” This last point is important for recorder players. Just as with singers, if one plans breathing to match the phrase length, the musical logic of Byrd’s text settings becomes apparent. And the polyphony flows gracefully.

Beyond Byrd’s florid, melismatic choral music, which he wrote earlier in his career often on Old Testament texts (cf. Laetentur coeli), he created numerous works that were more syllabic in which the sonority is in the phrasing and in the sound of the words. This is true of both his Anglican writing (cf. Look down, O Lord) and later works for the secret Catholic services held in the manor houses of Catholic peers (cf. Ave verum Corpus).

These are just windows into the possibilities in playing Byrd’s sublime choral music. You might find other approaches that work better for you, so some experimentation could be helpful.



Beyond the fine choral music available to ARS members, be sure to look at his wonderful instrumental works, several of which are also on the ARS website. Here can be found fantasias in three parts for SAT or ATB, four parts for SATB or ATBGb, and six parts: the grand Fantasia No. 2 à 6 SSATTB that anticipates the instrumental suites written in the early 17th century. These and other Byrd arrangements can be found by logged-in members in the ARS Music Libraries -- search "Byrd" to find them, or click below.