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John Taverner
Person · male · Kingdom of England · Lincolnshire · born 1490 · died 1545 · recording since 1984
English Renaissance composer and organist
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Also known as Taverner · 约翰·塔弗纳
Timeline
23 events▣ Album 20◦ Birth 1† Death 1★ Debut release 1
1490s
1540s
1980s
· Debut release
Debut release: Missa Gloria tibi Trinitas / Audivi vocem de caelo
First documented Album in the MusicBrainz discography.
source: musicbrainz
1990s
2000s
2010s
· Album
Album: Western Wind: Mass by John Taverner & Court Music for Henry VIII
Album
source: musicbrainz
Biography
English biography731 words · 9 sectionssource: wikipedia-en · licence CC BY-SA 4.0 · revision 1375329844
Biography
John Taverner (c. 1490 – 18 October 1545) was an English composer and organist, regarded as one of the most important English composers of his era. He is best-known for Missa Gloria tibi Trinitas and The Western Wynde Mass, and Missa Corona Spinea is also often viewed as a masterwork.
Career
Nothing is known of Taverner's activities before 1524. He appears to have come from the East Midlands, possibly being born in Tattershall, Lincolnshire, but there is no indication of his parentage. According to one of his own letters, he was related to the Yerburghs, a well-to-do Lincolnshire family. The earliest information is that in 1524, Taverner travelled from Tattershall to the Church of St Botolph in nearby Boston, as a guest singer. Two years later, in 1526, Taverner became the first Organist and Master of the Choristers at Christ Church, Oxford, appointed by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey. The college had been founded in 1525, by Cardinal Wolsey, and was then known as Cardinal College. Immediately before this, Taverner had been a clerk fellow at the Collegiate Church of Tattershall. In 1528, he was reprimanded for his (probably minor) involvement with Lutherans, but escaped punishment for being "but a musitian". Wolsey fell from favour in 1529, and in 1530, Taverner left the college. He married a widow, one Rose Parrowe, probably in 1536, and she outlived him until 1553. During the last five months of the composer's life, he was an alderman in the town council of Boston. For about three years, previously, he was the treasurer of the Corpus Christi Gild, there in Boston.
As far as can be told, Taverner had no further musical appointments, nor can any of his known works be dated to after that time, so he may have ceased composition. It is often said that after leaving Oxford, Taverner worked as an agent of Thomas Cromwell assisting in the dissolution of the monasteries, although the veracity of this is now thought to be highly questionable. He is known to have settled eventually in Boston, Lincolnshire, where he was a small landowner and reasonably well-off. He is buried with his wife under the belltower at Boston Parish Church. (In the few existing copies of his signature, the composer actually spelled his last name "Tavernor".) The 20th-century composer, Sir John Tavener claimed (even in his early teens) to be his direct descendant.
Masses
Missa Gloria tibi Trinitas (6 voices) (This mass was probably composed for Trinity Sunday. The original manuscript of this work—in the form of partbooks—contains facial portraits of Taverner. The portraits are in the initial letters of these partbooks. The above portrait is one of them.)
Missa Corona Spinea (6 voices)
Missa O Michael (6 voices)
Missa Sancti Wilhelmi (5 voices), sometimes called Small Devotion (possibly a corruption of inscription "S Will Devotio" found in two sources)
Missa Mater Christi (5 voices)
The Mean Mass (5 voices)
The Plainsong Mass (4 voices)
The Western Wynde Mass (4 voices)
Mass fragments
Christeleison (3 voices)
Kyrie Le Roy (4 voices)
Votive antiphons
Ave Dei Patris filia (5 voices)
Gaude plurimum (5 voices)
O splendor gloriae (5 voices) (This motet may have been co-written with Christopher Tye.)
O Wilhelme, pastor bone (in honour of Cardinal Wolsey)
Office music
Alleluya. Veni electa (4 voices)
Alleluya (4 voices)
Te Deum (5 voices)
Motets
Audivi vocem de caelo (4 voices)
Ave Maria (5 voices)
Dum transisset sabbatum (I) (5 voices, only work by Taverner included in the Dow Partbooks; also a 4 voice edition)
Dum transisset sabbatum (II) (4 voices)
Ecce carissimi
Ex ejus tumba – Sospitati dedit aegro
Fac nobis secundum hoc nomen (5 voices)
Fecundata sine viro (3 voices)
Hodie nobis caelorum rex
In pace in idipsum (4 voices)
Jesu spes poenitentibus (3 voices)
Magnificat (4 voices)
Magnificat (5 voices)
Magnificat (6 voices)
Mater Christi (5 voices)
O Christe Jesu pastor bone (5 voices, and a contrafactum of the antiphon "O Wilhelme")
Prudens virgo (3 voices)
Sancte deus (5 voices)
Sub tuum presidium (5 voices)
Tam peccatum (3 voices)
Traditur militibus (3 voices)
Virgo pura (3 voices)
Other
In trouble and adversity (SATB, a contrafactum on his four-part instrumental consort piece In Nomine).
Secular works
In women (2 voices)
Quemadmodum (possibly for viols or recorders) (This piece is now believed to have been a motet, with a text taken from Psalm 42. In 2010, the Oxford University Press published a choral version of this work, in an edition made by Tim Symons.)
Discography & profile
Normalised profile
Percentiles are computed over every artist in the database, so a tier-3 artist can still sit in the 95th percentile on a single axis.
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 30 | 90.4th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 23 | 88.2th |
| Studio albums | 20 | 96.4th |
| Awards recorded | 0 | 0th |
| Timeline events | 23 | 95th |
| Recording span (years) | -439 | 0.4th |
| Genres | 2 | 74th |
Percentiles are computed at render time; missing values mean the artist has no data on that axis.
Discography (23 release groups · 20 studio albums)
Albums · 20
Missa Gloria tibi Trinitas / Audivi vocem de caelo
1984 · studio album
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Tracklist · 5 tracks · 45:03
1Missa Gloria tibi Trinitas: Gloria12:292Missa Gloria tibi Trinitas: Credo10:173Missa Gloria tibi Trinitas: Sanctus9:264Missa Gloria tibi Trinitas: Agnus Dei8:355Audivi vocem de caelo4:161986 · studio album
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Tracklist · 7 tracks · 45:16
1Ambiance0:152Leroy Kyrie3:453Missa Gloria tibi Trinitas: Gloria10:264Missa Gloria tibi Trinitas: Credo8:145Missa Gloria tibi Trinitas: Sanctus & Benedictus7:296Missa Gloria tibi Trinitas: Agnus Dei7:577Dum transisset Sabbatum7:10Masterworks From Late‐Medieval England and Scotland
1989 · studio album
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Tracklist · 6 tracks · 1:05:41
1O Maria salvatoris Mater a 813:482Quemadmodum a 65:263O bone Jesu a 1911:134Gaude flore virginali a 510:115Stabat Mater dolorosa a 614:456O splendor gloriae a 510:18Missa corona spinea / Gaude plurimum / In pace
1989 · studio album
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Tracklist · 7 tracks · 58:41
1Gaude plurimum13:292Missa corona spinea: I. Gloria10:273Missa corona spinea: II. Credo9:524Missa corona spinea: III. Sanctus9:505Missa corona spinea: IV. Agnus Dei I3:086Missa corona spinea: V. Agnus Dei II5:507In pace, in idipsum6:051990 · studio album
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Tracklist · 19 tracks · 1:10:26
1Introitus: Rorate Coeli Desuper3:432Kyrie: Rex Splendens2:373Missa Mater Christi – Gloria7:474Oratio: Deus, Qui De Beatae Mariae1:145Epistola: Lectio Esaie Prophete1:326Alleluya, Ave Maria / Alleluya, Christus Resurgens2:447Sequentia: Ave Mundi Spes Maria3:268Evangelium: Sequentia Sancti Evangelii Secundum Lucam4:049Missa Mater Christi – Credo7:1510Offertorium: Ave Maria1:5311Oratio Secreta/praefatio2:3512Missa Mater Christi – Sanctus / Benedictus10:2113Canon / Pater Noster / Pax Domini1:5914Missa Mater Christi – Agnus Dei5:4715Communio: Ecce Virgo Concipies0:5316Post Communio: Gratiam Tuum Quaesumus Domine1:1517Ite Missa Est0:4518Antiphon: O Wilhelme, Pastor Bone3:2619Antiphon: Mater Christi Sanctissima7:10Missa O Michael / Leroy Kyrie / Dum transisset Sabbatum
1990 · studio album
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Tracklist · 7 tracks · 50:33
1Archangeli Michaelis Interventione1:182Leroy Kyrie5:173Missa O Michael: Gloria9:484Missa O Michael: Credo10:135Missa O Michael: Sanctus8:446Missa O Michael: Agnus Dei8:317Dum transisset sabbatum6:421991 · studio album
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Tracklist · 7 tracks · 50:44
1O Wilhelme, pastor bone3:312Dum transisset sabbatum6:263Missa Sancti Wilhelmi ("Small Devotion"): Gloria6:314Missa Sancti Wilhelmi ("Small Devotion"): Credo7:405Missa Sancti Wilhelmi ("Small Devotion"): Sanctus - Benedictus6:536Missa Sancti Wilhelmi ("Small Devotion"): Agnus Dei4:437Ex eius tumba15:001992 · studio album
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Tracklist · 8 tracks · 56:05
1O splendor gloriae10:242Te Deum13:073Alleluia. Veni, electa mea4:114Mass ‘The Western Wynde’: Gloria6:335Mass ‘The Western Wynde’: Credo6:556Mass ‘The Western Wynde’: Sanctus4:467Mass ‘The Western Wynde’: Benedictus2:428Mass ‘The Western Wynde’: Agnus Dei7:27Ave Dei Patris Filia: Music for Our Lady and Divine Office
1993 · studio album
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Tracklist · 8 tracks · 1:03:32
1Ex eius tumba. Sospitati dedit aegros13:162Dum transisset sabbatum (I)7:213Audivi vocem de caelo4:134Dum transisset Sabbatum (II)3:455Kyrie "Le Roy"5:196Alleluya. Veni electa mea3:387Magnificat à 512:058Ave Dei Patris filia13:551993 · studio album
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Tracklist · 12 tracks · 1:19:48
1Western Wind Mass: Gloria7:532Western Wind Mass: Credo7:543Western Wind Mass: Sanctus and Benedictus8:094Western Wind Mass: Agnus Dei8:185Western Wind Mass: Gloria7:446Western Wind Mass: Credo7:447Western Wind Mass: Sanctus and Benedictus6:508Western Wind Mass: Agnus Dei4:539Western Wind Mass: Gloria4:5910Western Wind Mass: Credo5:2211Western Wind Mass: Sanctus and Benedictus5:2812Western Wind Mass: Agnus Dei4:34Missa Mater Christi Sanctissima
1993 · studio album
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Tracklist · 10 tracks · 1:05:14
1Hodie nobis coelorum rex5:002Mater Christi Sanctissima7:213Magnificat a 4 "Nesciens mater"11:474Quemadmodum a 64:215Missa Mater Christi Sanctissima: Gloria8:176Missa Mater Christi Sanctissima: Credo8:047Missa Mater Christi Sanctissima: Sanctus6:188Missa Mater Christi Sanctissima: Benedictus4:569Missa Mater Christi Sanctissima: Agnus Dei6:4310In nomine a 42:272007 · studio album
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Tracklist · 10 tracks · 1:02:58
1Cantus firmus: "Gloria tibi Trinitas"0:412Kyrie: "Deus creator omnium"2:163Missa "Gloria tibi Trinitas": I. Gloria12:564Missa "Gloria tibi Trinitas": II. Credo10:535Missa "Gloria tibi Trinitas": III. Sanctus5:476Missa "Gloria tibi Trinitas": IV. Benedictus4:147Missa "Gloria tibi Trinitas": V. Agnus Dei9:068Mater Christi6:219Dum transisset Sabbatum (for 5 voices)6:5410O Wilhelme, pastor bone3:502010 · studio album
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Tracklist · 8 tracks · 58:09
1Dum transisset sabbatum6:012Leroy Kyrie5:103Missa Corona spinea: Gloria8:594Missa Corona spinea: Credo8:285Missa Corona spinea: Sanctus8:136Missa Corona spinea: Agnus Dei7:477Dum transisset sabbatum (II)3:118O splendor glorie10:20John Taverner: Sacred Choral Music
2010 · studio album
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Tracklist · 8 tracks · 58:09
1Dum transisset Sabbatum6:012Leroy Kyrie5:103Missa Corona spinea: Gloria8:594Missa Corona spinea: Credo8:285Missa Corona spinea: Sanctus8:136Missa Corona spinea: Agnus Dei7:477Dum transisset Sabbatum (II)3:118O splendor glorie10:202013 · studio album
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Tracklist · 7 tracks · 1:18:59
1Missa Gloria tibi Trinitas: I. Gloria11:452Missa Gloria tibi Trinitas: II. Credo10:383Missa Gloria tibi Trinitas: III. Sanctus & Benedictus9:174Missa Gloria tibi Trinitas: IV. Agnus Dei I, II & III9:395Magnificat for four voices11:046Magnificat for five voices13:237Magnificat for six voices13:132015 · studio album
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Tracklist · 18 tracks · 1:02:00
1Missa Corona spinea: Gloria. Gloria in excelsis Deo5:332Missa Corona spinea: Gloria. Qui tollis7:513Missa Corona spinea: Credo. Credo in unum Deum4:494Missa Corona spinea: Credo. Et incarnatus est6:055Missa Corona spinea: Sanctus. Sanctus and Hosanna I6:206Missa Corona spinea: Sanctus. Benedictus1:087Missa Corona spinea: Sanctus. Qui venit2:388Missa Corona spinea: Sanctus. Hosanna II1:359Missa Corona spinea: Agnus Dei. Agnus Dei I4:2910Missa Corona spinea: Agnus Dei. Agnus Dei II3:5611Missa Corona spinea: Agnus Dei. Agnus Dei III1:3712Missa Corona spinea: Agnus Dei. Dona nobis pacem1:4413Dum transisset Sabbatum II: Dum transisset4:0114Dum transisset Sabbatum II: Ut venientes1:5415Dum transisset Sabbatum II: Alleluia0:5616Dum transisset Sabbatum I: Dum transisset4:1517Dum transisset Sabbatum I: Ut venientes1:5618Dum transisset Sabbatum I: Alleluia1:13Taverner: Tudor Church Music; Croft: Burial Service
2015 · studio album
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Tracklist · 10 tracks · 1:05:14
1Taverner: Leroy Kyrie3:342Western Wind Mass : Taverner: Western Wind Mass - Gloria6:423Western Wind Mass : Taverner: Western Wind Mass - Credo6:394Western Wind Mass : Taverner: Western Wind Mass - Sanctus4:465Western Wind Mass : Taverner: Western Wind Mass - Benedictus2:376Western Wind Mass : Taverner: Western Wind Mass - Agnus Dei7:417Taverner: Dum transisset Sabbatum7:488Taverner: Christe Jesu pastor bone3:119Taverner: Mater Christi7:3210Croft: The Burial Service14:44Western Wind: Mass by John Taverner & Court Music for Henry VIII
2016 · studio album
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Tracklist · 21 tracks · 1:19:19
1The Western Wynde0:382Kyrie (Rex sempiterne)1:463Mass "The Western Wynde": I. Gloria6:374My Lady Careys Dompe2:185Mass "The Western Wynde": II. Credo7:076If Love Now Reynyd1:367Preface (Sursum corda / Vere dignum)1:418Mass "The Western Wynde": III. Sanctus7:289My Lady Wynkfylds Rownde0:5610Mass "The Western Wynde": IV. Agnus Dei7:2611O Blessed Lord, How May This Be1:3512Yow and I and Amyas5:5013A Hornepype4:1614Wher Be Ye My Love?5:5915Fa la sol6:5816Taunder Naken2:2017Audivi vocem de caelo3:2918In nomine2:4219Dum transisset sabbatum7:0120Westron Wynde0:4621Western Winds0:50Western Wynde Mass / Missa Mater Christi sanctissima
2016 · studio album
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Tracklist · 11 tracks · 58:32
1Mater Christi sanctissima6:022Missa Mater Christi sanctissima: Gloria6:253Missa Mater Christi sanctissima: Credo6:254Missa Mater Christi sanctissima: Sanctus4:555Missa Mater Christi sanctissima: Benedictus3:536Missa Mater Christi sanctissima: Agnus Dei5:187Western Wynde Mass: Gloria6:008Western Wynde Mass: Credo6:189Western Wynde Mass: Sanctus4:0410Western Wynde Mass: Benedictus2:2411Western Wynde Mass: Agnus Dei6:482019 · studio album
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Tracklist · 9 tracks · 1:16:18
1Gaude plurimum16:562Le roy Kyrie3:183Missa Gloria tibi trinitas: I. Gloria12:154Missa Gloria tibi trinitas: II. Credo11:105Missa Gloria tibi trinitas: III. Sanctus & Benedictus10:126Missa Gloria tibi trinitas: IV. Agnus Dei I, II, III9:127Ave Maria2:508Audivi vocem3:539Dum transisset sabbatum6:32
Album · 1
| Cover | Year | Title | Notes | First release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Commemorating the 450th Anniversary of His DeathSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 11 tracks · 1:19:221Song: Westron wynde0:57 2Western Wind Mass: Gloria7:50 3Western Wind Mass: Credo7:54 4Western Wind Mass: Sanctus & Benedictus8:09 5Western Wind Mass: Agnus Dei I, II & III8:22 6Western Wind Mass: Leroy Kyrie3:48 7Missa Gloria Tibi Trinitas: Gloria10:25 8Missa Gloria Tibi Trinitas: Credo9:13 9Missa Gloria Tibi Trinitas: Sanctus & Benedictus7:26 10Missa Gloria Tibi Trinitas: Agnus Dei I, II & III7:59 11Missa Gloria Tibi Trinitas: Dum transisset Sabbatum7:19 | Compilation | 1995 |
Other · 2
| Cover | Year | Title | Notes | First release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Imperatrix Inferni: Votive Antiphons & Ritual MusicSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 8 tracks · 1:09:381Quemadmodum5:39 2Audivi vocem3:50 3Ave Dei patris filia14:15 4Dum transisset sabbatum7:48 5Mater Christi6:11 6Gaude plurimum15:28 7[Hodie nobis celorum rex ...] Gloria in excelsis Deo4:36 8O splendor glorie11:51 | 2011 | ||
| — | Sacred and Secular WorksSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 11 tracks · 1:02:561Magnificat for six voices11:30 2Gloria4:58 3Credo4:37 4Sanctus4:14 5Agnus dei3:27 6Magnificat for four voices9:50 7Fac nobis secundum5:09 8Sub tumm presidum2:01 9Sancte deus3:26 10Ave maria2:07 11Magnificat for five voices11:37 | — |
Stats & PK
Percentile within all 23,672 published artists.Put John Taverner head-to-head →
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 30 | 90.4th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 23 | 88.2th |
| Studio albums | 20 | 96.4th |
| Awards recorded | 0 | 0th |
| Timeline events | 23 | 95th |
| Recording span (years) | -439 | 0.4th |
| Genres | 2 | 74th |
Awards & honours
Where this record comes from
portrait—Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:John_Taverner_d_1545.jpgaliases/urls—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/b65b5ed2-aa5a-4a2f-a65c-78a74fe95846discography—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/b65b5ed2-aa5a-4a2f-a65c-78a74fe95846core—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q315353seed-list—wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Tavernerbiography—wikipedia-en · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Taverner
Why this artist is in the database
- List of composers by name
Tier rule: historic figure (30 language versions, career ended)
Image: Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Wikidata: Q315353 · MusicBrainz: b65b5ed2-aa5a-4a2f-a65c-78a74fe95846