styles, and proudly so. Byrd was the great protagonist of this change, which in the face of English
withdrawal from the universal church might seem a bit paradoxical. Yet it reflected in its particular
domain the same heightened cultural commerce with continental Europe that distinguished the Elizabethan
age generally.
Henry VIII had begun importing continental musicians for his personal entourage as early as 1520.
One of them, Philip van Wilder, a Fleming brought over as a “lewter” (lutenist), was a particularly gifted
composer. His lovely Pater noster for high voices (Ex. 16-16), though published in Antwerp in 1554 (a
year after the composer’s death), was probably composed for the “young mynstrells” at Henry’s court, a
boys’ ensemble in Philip’s charge. It counts as one of the earliest ars perfecta compositions to be written
on English soil.
EX. 16-16 Philip van Wilder, Pater noster, beginning