John Taverner John Taverner likely came from near Tattershall in Lincolnshire. Around 1525, he was working as a clerk at the Collegiate Church. After establishing a good reputation in London, he was appointed Informator Choristorum at the newly founded Cardinal College in Oxford in November 1526. There, he briefly ran into trouble during meetings with adherents of Lutheran doctrine but narrowly escaped imprisonment. After Wolsey was dismissed from his post in 1529, the future of Cardinal College was temporarily uncertain. Taverner left the institution in April 1530, before it was reopened in 1532 under Henry VIII.
Subsequently, Taverner resided in Boston, Lincolnshire, where Thomas Cromwell tasked him with inspecting the smaller monasteries. Accusations that he had behaved fanatically were refuted, as he carried out his duties responsibly and with empathy.
On October 18, 1545, Taverner died in Boston and was buried beneath the tower of the parish church there.
Music before Taverner's time, such as the Magnificats and Antiphons collected in the Eton Choirbook, reflects the cultural flourishing of the 15th century. Although Taverner was rooted in the musical tradition of the late Middle Ages, his works also show influences of contemporary European music, particularly through imitative techniques and a more transparent style.
Taverner's best-known festive mass is "Gloria tibi Trinitas," which was the first composition included in the Forrest Heyther partbooks. This mass is remarkable for its balanced conception and the thoughtful use of the cantus firmus chorale "Gloria tibi Trinitas." The six-part mass is distinguished by the high treble parts characteristic of English music of that era.
The Benedictus section beginning with "In nomine Domini" impressed contemporaries with its extraordinary beauty and inspired the genre of "In nomine," instrumental music cultivated by English composers until the 17th century and based on the cantus firmus of the chant.
In "Audivi vocem de caelo," Taverner's setting of the Matins Responsory, choir and polyphony merge, with the chant serving as the cantus firmus. The unusual writing style for four high voices may be traced back to the All Saints' Day custom, when five boys sang the responsory, symbolizing the five virgins. William Whytbroke added a lower voice, creating a harmonic expansion.