O Lord, make thy servant Elizabeth - Byrd, William

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"This is an anthem of intercession for the Monarch. It is likely it was intended to be performed on the ‘King’s Day’ (as indicated next to Royal anthems in manuscripts at Durham heralding from the 1620s, e.g. GB-DRc MS C4). This feast traditionally coincided with Epiphany (see e.g. Royal Epiphany anthems in GB-Ckc MSS 9-17), but later moved to the separate celebration of the Accession of the Monarch. It may also be performed on any occasion where prayers for the Royal Family are suitable, including services of Evensong and Matins where the State Prayers are used. It was a particularly popular composition by Byrd, and was performed regularly long after its composition. The earliest sources include the text ‘Elizabeth, our Queen’, but early manuscript sources survive in versions texted to later Monarchs, including James I, James II, Charles I, Charles II, and William of Orange. The majority of sources appear to explicitly mention the Monarch by name (see e.g. GB-Cp MSS 34,36,38,39,44,46,47; GB-CU MS Ely 4, GB-CU MS Ely 28; GB-DRc MSS A1,C2*,C6,C7,C11,C12,C15,C16,C17; GB-Lcm MSS 1045-1049; GB-Cqcl MS Old Library G.4.17; to name a few)."

⌛ Period → Renaissance ◈ Genre → Anthems

♯ Key A- major

⁄ Time Signature 4/4

♬ Voicing → SAATTB,ATTBBB

◆ Difficulty

Elementary

↕ Range A-2 – E-5

¶ Language → English

Measures 49

Texture mixed texture

Parts 6

Instruments A cappella

Pages 14

CPDL # 63627

Editor Christopher Shaw

Posted 2021-03-22

License Personal

♫Pitch Ranges

Soprano

E-4 – E-5

Alto 1

E-3 – B-4

Alto 2

A-3 – B-4

Tenor

D-3 – F4

Bass

A-2 – E-4

MusicXML Part

A-2 – D-4

¶Lyrics / Text

O Lord, make thy servant [Elizabeth our Queen]* to rejoice in thy strength: give her her heart's desire, and deny not the request of her lips; but prevent her with thine everlasting blessing, and give her a long life, even for ever and ever. Amen. <nowiki>*</nowiki>Versions of this anthem exist in early manuscripts for a number of different Monarchs. This dedication is worded slightly differently for each one.