Tallis is dead, and music dies...

Following the death of Thomas Tallis in 1585, William Byrd wrote in his consort song Ye sacred muses "Tallis is dead, and music dies", thus capturing the esteem and veneration in which Tallis was held by his fellow composers and musical colleagues in the sixteenth century and, indeed, by the four monarchs he served at the Chapel Royal. Tallis' claim to the 'crown' of English music is justified by his lasting influence on English musical composition.

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