William Byrd

Musical context

High Renaissance · 16th c.

Music printing widened the circulation of repertory, while the Reformation and Catholic reform reshaped worship and musical patronage. Josquin, Palestrina, and their contemporaries developed inherited polyphonic traditions; composers of madrigals also explored increasingly close relationships between poetry and sound. Different religious communities adopted different musical practices, so this century brought several overlapping traditions rather than one uniform style. Explore the era →