Tallis, Audivi vocem

The text of Audivi vocem is from the service of Matins on All Saints’ Day (November 1). This setting by Thomas Tallis makes use of the Sarum rite chant.

The Sarum rite comes from Salisbury Cathedral in England. Various styles of chant were spread across Western Europe in medieval times. Music notation, one of the primary tools for standardizing music, did not appear until the 9th century (and then only in very rudimentary form). So it makes sense that various local styles would be found. The Gallican rite spread through England and Ireland prior to the arrival of St. Augustine of Canterbury in 597. The Benedictine monasteries that followed practiced the Roman rite. The Sarum rite arose after the Norman Conquest of 1066. While it shared many features of the Roman rite, Salisbury was independent of the monasteries. Salisbury Cathedral was completed in 1266 and the Sarum rite developed some elaborate processions particularly suited to the cathedral architecture and its 19 altars.

At the time of the Reformation, the rite was the primary source for the first Anglican Book of Common Prayer (1549). Tallis (1505-1585) managed to avoid the religious conflicts and changing winds of the time. He served both Catholic and Protestant monarchs. The Reformation, however, resulted in the destruction of the many Sarum rite service books in print and the discontinuance of the processions at Salisbury.

The text of Audivi vocem: