William Byrd

English composer who wrote music for the keyboard and for viol consorts as well as highly regarded sacred and secular choral music. He enjoyed sufficient favour for his Catholicism to be tolerated in the newly Protestand England. He wrote music for both churches. Together with his older contemporary and former teacher Tallis, he held the monopoly on music printing. In his writing he made particular use of 'false relation' which, to an untrained ear, sounds like a mistake but which is a discord that naturally occurs from the nature of the polyphonic writing and which gives an expressive character.