Perhaps no other 16th c. composer, than Thomas Tallis, had to deal with an endless and varying succession of edicts on church music
composition driven by English church reform. He began his career in Latin Catholic church music under Henry VIII, then Latin Anglican music after Henry's break with Rome, then fully protestant English Anglican music, then Latin Catholic music under Queen Mary's restoration of Catholicism, then English music once again under Elizabeth I. Tallis is remarkable because, with each change, he effortlessly continued to provide a steady stream of appropriate musical compositions such as
Sunday's anthem, “If ye love me keep my commandments.” Written for the Anglican liturgy, his task was to set the words of Christ with utter simplicity and clarity. He begins in block chords so each voice sings the same words and syllable at the same moment. Next, Tallis takes aesthetic liberty returning to 16
th c. traditions of imitative polyphony. It follows the old adage, “first give them what they want so that you may do what you want.”
