Published in his 1589
Cantiones Sacrae, this double motet is one of Byrd’s masterpieces and must surely be one of his most forceful utterances inspired by the fate of the Catholic church in England. The emphasis laid on the word ‘desolata’ after the sad echoings of ‘Ierusalem’, and the chordal enunciations of ‘Sion deserta facta est’ invite comparison with
The Lamentations of Tallis.
from notes by Paul Hillier © 1990