Dona nobis pacem

摘要

IN 1605 Charles de Ligny, a Frenchman, was having a drink in the Fleur de Lys pub near the Tower of London when someone noticed what was in his bag. Soon after, government spies burst in, arrested him and threw him in Newgate prison. The seditious document was a copy of sacred choral music by William Byrd. How could this possibly be grounds for arrest? To most people today, sacred choral music of the 16th and 17th centuries is a calming oasis, or perhaps a devotional aid. But its history is a troubled, sometimes violent, one. Singing certain sorts of music could lead to public censure, or worse. The story of Byrd (1540-1623), an English Roman Catholic who contrived to remain part of the Protestant establishment he defied, illustrates the role such music played in political and theological struggles.