John Taverner - Missa 'The Western Wynde' - H Christophers, The Sixteen (1991) [Philidor; FLAC]

John Taverner has been called "the last of the Great English medieval composers." He was one of the best remunerated, during tumultuous times that saw Henry VIII form the Church of England, followed by the downfall of Taverner's patron, Cardinal Wolsey. The composer soon thereafter retired to a reasonably wealthy estate.

His Missa The Western Wynde is an engimatic work. The lovely English folk melody that it appears to be based upon has never been identified; a song known by the same name exists from this period, but does not seem to be musically related. Taverner manages with ease the feat of placing the tune in each of the four parts (alto excepted) at various times. It proved popular enough to spawn two other masses using the same tune by equally fine composers, John Sheppard and Christopher Tye.


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