Be unto Me
by William Byrd
4-Part - Sheet Music

SATB choir, a cappella

SKU: C5.7094

Composed by William Byrd. Edited by William Tortolano. Text: Sir William Leighton. Renaissance treasure. General. Octavo. Published by CanticaNOVA Publications (C5.7094).

This classic Byrd motet, Be unto Me, O Lord, a Tower of Strength, beautifully edited here by early music expert William Tortolano, uses a text by Sir William Leighton, and is applicable on any general Sunday: "Be unto me, O Lord, a tower of strength, against my mortal foe. O guard and keep me with Thy power, which way so ever I shall go. Then shall my heart and soul rejoice in God my Lord, with cheerful voice." In it, the composer uses subtle examples of text painting: the text, "a tow'r of strength," is set to sturdy, homophonic chords; "with cheerful voice," introduces happily running eighth notes. Ranges are moderate: Soprano: C# - D / Alto: C - D / Tenor: D - high G / Bass: A - D. Since the upper two voices share nearly identical ranges (and frequently overlap), the director might divide sopranos and altos equally on these two parts - thus assuring perfect balance! This would also allow the motet to be lowered a half or whole step, if the high G for tenors is at all a problem. The flexibilty of the parts, the general nature of the text, and the relative ease of the music make this beautiful motet beneficial to any choral program.