As you might know, the choir is back from England where we had a grand time. You’ll be happy to know that the fifteen folks who went across the pond to sing at Christ Church Oxford were exemplary ambassadors for Trinity, North Carolina, and the United States. Now that we’re back, a little bit of English music this Sunday and next, of course!
Today’s Anthem is the well-known “If Ye Love Me” by the 16th-century composer Thomas Tallis. Although Tallis remained an “unreformed Roman Catholic” throughout his life, he adapted professionally to serve the monarch of the time. He wrote for the Latin Catholic Mass until Henry VIII broke with Rome. Later, he returned to the Catholic Mass to accommodate Queen Mary. Under Elizabeth I, he moved back to the Anglican tradition. Whatever pays the bills!
The brief four-part motet, If Ye Love Me, was published in 1565 during Elizabeth’s reign. It is a setting of a passage from the Gospel of John (4:15-17), and selected to resonate with today’s lectionary reading of expressing love for Christ by following God’s commandments. Tallis’ writing conforms to the pure, homophonic style of the time, employing “to each syllable a plain and distinct note.” Yet, while generally staying within these parameters, Tallis seems to push the boundaries, allowing intimations of imitative counterpoint to blossom.
If Ye Love Me is still a standard motet of the Anglican tradition, with performances at the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and during Pope Benedict XVI’s 2010 visit to Westminster Abbey. Surviving the winds of change for 400 years, it comes to us as pure music and reminds us that while politics and religious squabbles are temporary, great music is eternal.
Justin Smith