Probably written during his last few years, John Taverner’s Quemadmodum reflects the move away from the florid pre-Reformation techniques used in older Tudor compositions to a pared-back style more influenced by Continental composers. Whilst Taverner’s setting survives only in instrumental form, its origins are clearly as a vocal work; it is wonderfully refined in its use of imitation and its seamless manipulation of the polyphonic texture—the six parts spinning out long melismatic lines. Sequences of suspensions shift the harmonic foundations skilfully, while individual phrases are highlighted by imitation between the parts, such as the ‘ad te, Deus’ at the end of the first part: a glorious series of suspensions where the tension is released through descending melismas.

from notes by Owain Park © 2018