William Byrd was one of the earliest masters of English music and a major figure of the Tudor period. He was born in 1543, probably in Lincolnshire, though neither the place nor his parentage or youth are found in the record. What is known of his childhood is that he attended the St. Paul's School for a time, and it is believed that at least part of his musical training came from Thomas Tallis. The first date in Byrd's life that can be authenticated is February 27, 1563, when Byrd was appointed organist of Lincoln Cathedral. He would be married in 1568 to Juliana Birley, and they had six children. From 1570 to the end of his life he was Gentleman of the Chapel Royal and shared the post of organist with Thomas Tallis after 1572 until the death of the older man in 1585. After that, Byrd occupied the post alone ("Byrd" 72).
It is believed that a number of Byrd's surviving works date from his teens, though this is not certain. The three-part Sermone blando for consort and the second organ Miserer are typical of student works of the period, and they involve strict or free canons over plainsong. The two-part organ hymns and antiphons also seem to come from a different world than Byrd's other music. There are motets attached to his name that seem to be for the Sarum liturgy, which might imply that they were composed before the death of Queen Mary, meaning before Byrd was 16 years of age. The most ambitious of Byrd's student compositions, published in 1605, was Christus resurgens, a favorite cantus firmus for competitive setting which the young Byrd might have approached as a technical exercise after the liturgical conditions requiring it had collapsed (Sadie, 1980, 537-538).
Byrd and Tallis were given an exclusive patent by Queen Elizabeth in 1575 for printing and selling music paper. Their first publication was Cantiones sacrae, for five and six voices, issued that same year and dedicated to the Queen. Byrd wrote 18 mote...