ABSTRACT
The motet occupied a peculiar and fascinating place in post-Reformation England. Thomas Morley (hardly a reactionary figure) wrote in 1597 that it was ‘chiefest both for art and utilitie’. After it was dropped from public ceremonial use, it found new life as an essentially secular genre, producing some of the most memorable music of the Elizabethan era. This chapter traces the development of the motet in later sixteenth-century England, with discussions of terminology, compositional style and influence from abroad.
