Cantiones quae ab argumento sacrae vocantur
One of the first sets of sacred music printed in England (1575), the Cantiones Sacrae were a joint publication by William Byrd and Thomas Tallis. The dedication to Queen Elizabeth
was intended both in gratitude for her granting the composers the sole right to publish music in England, and to mark the 17th year of her reign. To this end, each composer contributed 17 pieces to the collection (although some separate numbering of sections of longer works was required to reach this total). In spite of the composers' initial optimism, the venture was a commercial failure, few copies being sold either at home or in Europe.
Publication date and place: 1575 in London.
At the time of publication, Byrd was about 35 and had recently returned to London from a post in Lincoln; Tallis was about 70. The collection contains relatively new pieces as well as those written some years previously.
List of works
Works at CPDL
| Title | Year | No. | Composer | Genre | Subgenre | Vo. | Voices |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Absterge Domine | 1575 | 2 | Thomas Tallis | Sacred | Motets | 5 | ATTBB |
| Aspice Domine quia facta est | 1575 | 10 | William Byrd | Sacred | Motets | 6 | AATTBB |
| Attollite portas | 1575 | 11 | William Byrd | Sacred | Motets | 6 | SATTTB |
| Candidi facti sunt | 1575 | 22 | Thomas Tallis | Sacred | Motets | 5 | ATBBB,SATTB,SATBB |
| Da mihi auxilium | 1575 | 23 | William Byrd | Sacred | Motets | 6 | ATTBBB |
| Derelinquit impius | 1575 | 13 | Thomas Tallis | Sacred | Motets | 5 | ATTBB |
| Diliges Dominum | 1575 | 25 | William Byrd | Sacred | Canons | 8 | SSAATTBB,SSTTTTBB,AATTTTBB |
| Domine secundum actum meum | 1575 | 24 | William Byrd | Sacred | Motets | 6 | STTBBB |
| Dum transisset Sabbatum | 1575 | 14 | Thomas Tallis | Sacred | Motets | 5 | SSATT |
| Emendemus in melius | 1575 | 4 | William Byrd | Sacred | Motets | ||
| Honor, virtus et potestas | 1575 | 15 | Thomas Tallis | Sacred | Motets | 5 | SAATT |
| In jejunio et fletu | 1575 | 26 | Thomas Tallis | Sacred | Motets | 5 | ATTBB |
| In manus tuas Domine | 1575 | 3 | Thomas Tallis | Sacred | Motets | 5 | SATTB |
| Laudate pueri Dominum | 1575 | 17 | William Byrd | Sacred | Motets | 6 | ATTBBB |
| Libera me, Domine, de morte aeterna | 1575 | 33 | William Byrd | Sacred | Motets | 5 | ATTBB |
| Memento homo | 1575 | 18 | William Byrd | Sacred | Motets | 6 | ATTBBB |
| Mihi autem nimis | 1575 | 7 | Thomas Tallis | Sacred | Motets | 5 | ATTBB |
| Miserere mihi Domine | 1575 | 29 | William Byrd | Sacred | Motets | 6 | ATTBBB, SAATTB |
| Miserere nostri | 1575 | 34 | Thomas Tallis | Sacred | Motets | 7 | SSTTTBB, AATTBBB |
| O lux beata Trinitas | 1575 | 12 | William Byrd | Sacred | Motets | 6 | AATTBB |
| O sacrum convivium | 1575 | 9 | Thomas Tallis | Sacred | Motets | 5 | ATTBB |
| Peccantem me quotidie | 1575 | 6 | William Byrd | Sacred | Motets | 5 | SATTB |
| Salvator mundi II | 1575 | 21 | Thomas Tallis | Sacred | Motets | 5 | ATTBB, SATTB |
| Salvator mundi I | 1575 | 1 | Thomas Tallis | Sacred | Motets | 5 | ATTBB |
| Sermone blando | 1575 | 16 | Thomas Tallis | Sacred | Motets | 5 | STTBB |
| Siderum rector | 1575 | 19 | William Byrd | Sacred | Motets | 5 | SAATB,SATTB |
| Suscipe quaeso Domine - Si enim iniquitates | 1575 | 27-28 | Thomas Tallis | Sacred | Motets | 7 | AATTBBB, SSAATBB |
| Te lucis ante terminum | 1575 | 20 | Thomas Tallis | Sacred | Office hymns | 5 | ATTBB |
| Tribue Domine - Te deprecor - Gloria Patri | 1575 | 30-32 | William Byrd | Sacred | Motets | 6 | SATTBB |