Composer. One of England's leading religious composers of the Tudor period, he flourished during the reign of Mary I (1553 to 1558). Sheppard's style was eclectic and sometimes experimental, yet always English in character. The "Missa Cantate" (c. 1555) and "Western Wynde Mass" (c. 1553) are considered the best of his five Masses. His music influenced William Byrd. Few personal details of Sheppard are known. Much of his life was spent at Oxford University, where he studied intermittently for 24 years, was Master of Choristers at Magdalen College from 1543 to 1548, and unsuccessfully applied for a Doctor of Music degree in 1554. From 1552 until his death he was a Gentleman of London's Chapel Royal. He may have been a Catholic, given that his best works were written in response to Queen Mary's short-lived religious reforms, though his Anglican music is also impressive. His output includes the "Playnsong Mass", "Frences Mass" (written in the complex manner of Nicolas Gombert), the curiously titled "Be Not Afraide Mass", 21 Responses for the Gregorian (Sarum) rite, 15 church anthems, and a number of hymns and motets. He also claimed to have composed "many songs" but only two survive, "O Happy Dames" and "Vain, Vain, All Our Life We Spend in Vain". A 4-CD collection of Sheppard's compositions was released in 1997.
Composer. One of England's leading religious composers of the Tudor period, he flourished during the reign of Mary I (1553 to 1558). Sheppard's style was eclectic and sometimes experimental, yet always English in character. The "Missa Cantate" (c. 1555) and "Western Wynde Mass" (c. 1553) are considered the best of his five Masses. His music influenced William Byrd. Few personal details of Sheppard are known. Much of his life was spent at Oxford University, where he studied intermittently for 24 years, was Master of Choristers at Magdalen College from 1543 to 1548, and unsuccessfully applied for a Doctor of Music degree in 1554. From 1552 until his death he was a Gentleman of London's Chapel Royal. He may have been a Catholic, given that his best works were written in response to Queen Mary's short-lived religious reforms, though his Anglican music is also impressive. His output includes the "Playnsong Mass", "Frences Mass" (written in the complex manner of Nicolas Gombert), the curiously titled "Be Not Afraide Mass", 21 Responses for the Gregorian (Sarum) rite, 15 church anthems, and a number of hymns and motets. He also claimed to have composed "many songs" but only two survive, "O Happy Dames" and "Vain, Vain, All Our Life We Spend in Vain". A 4-CD collection of Sheppard's compositions was released in 1997.
Bio by: Bobb Edwards
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