About the work

There is a historical link between Philippe de Monte’s setting in the first half and Byrd’s in the second. The Flemish de Monte enjoyed religious freedom as a Roman Catholic at a time when under Queen Elizabeth I the faith was proscribed in England. His setting of “Super Flumina Babylonis,” arguably justifies the praise of his contemporary compatriots, “the best composer in the entire country.” Byrd enjoyed an equally flattering reputation in England, perhaps explaining how through a large part of his life he flourished there despite his own Catholic faith. De Monte sent Byrd his setting of the first part of the psalm; Byrd’s response was his setting of the second part, “Quomodo Cantabimus.”