Alla Breve for 05/28 & 05/29/22

Have you ever struggled to complete a jigsaw puzzle, only to discover later that part of the reason for your trouble were missing pieces?  That might have been how you felt if you read the Alla Breve from a couple weeks ago, the one about If Ye Love Me.  Due to some unintentional editing errors, some pieces were left out which may have left you a little confused.  Primarily, about halfway through, the name “Tallis” suddenly appeared with no prior reference!  Well, to correct that mistake, know that Thomas Tallis (or Tallys or Talles…they weren’t too picky about spelling back in those days) was an English Renaissance composer who lived roughly from 1505 to 1585, and he is the composer of If Ye Love Me.  Having been born prior to the reign of Henry VIII, Tallis was raised as a Roman Catholic and remained one throughout his life, despite living during an age of tremendous religious strife in England.  This was around the time when Henry VIII first broke away from Rome to form the Church of England.  Tallis managed to avoid most of the religious controversies due to his service to the various monarchs starting with (ironically enough) Henry VIII himself.  Tallis adapted his musical style to the demands of the times, keeping both his position with the royals and, more importantly, his head!  For his contributions, he is honored with a feast day on November 21^st in the liturgical calendar of the American Episcopal Church.  Now you can finish that puzzle started two weeks ago!