Ave verum corpus

Byrd’s deeply introspective Latin motet for the Feast of Corpus Christi was probably intended for the “underground” services that took place secretly in the homes of Catholic recusants in the decades following the Reformation. The text reflects on the real presence of the body and blood of Christ in the Eucharist. From the hushed chordal opening—“Hail, true body, born of the Virgin Mary”—Byrd conveys the gravity of the words with resonant clarity and subtle word painting. He writes a fleeting dissonance on the word “corpus”, highlighting the significance of Christ’s body in the liturgical context, and then cascading vocal lines suggest the blood flowing from the crucified Christ’s pierced side (“cuius latus perforatum, unda fluxit sanguine”). Later, meditating on the trial of death, Byrd chisels out the word “mortis” in high relief, while imploring repetitions of the phrase “miserere mei” (“have mercy on me”) bring the work to a prayerful and penitential close.