If ye love me

Tallis’s career (c. 1505-85) spanned decades of unparalleled political and religious upheaval whose impact on English music was profound, as musical forms and styles constantly changed in response to the liturgical and doctrinal demands of each new monarch. Edward VI introduced the First Book of Common Prayer in 1549, with guidance to composers to set English texts in a simple style that all could understand. Tallis was one of the first composers to contribute to this new pared-down liturgy, and his anthem If Ye Love Me shows just how much he could achieve with minimal means. Scored for four-part choir, it sets the Whit Sunday Gospel reading from the new Book of Common Prayer and opens with the clear declamation of the text, emphasising the word “commandments” and leaving the congregation in no doubt of the importance attached to learning and teaching in the new language of the Church. Tallis mixes straightforward chordal writing with the simplest possible imitation between voices, without ever sacrificing the clarity of the text.