Master and commander thomas tallis biography

Thomas Tallis (born c.1505; died GreenwichNovember 231585) was the most important Englishcomposer of his generation.

We know very little about Tallis’s youth.

He may have started his career as organist at Dover and then Waltham Abbey. After the Dissolution of the monasteries he had a job at Canterbury Cathedral for a short time. He was soon made a Gentleman of the Chapel Royal. He had a job in the royal household until his death.

He worked for four monarchs: Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary Tudor and Elizabeth I.

Tallis was an organist and composer. He had to write music for the royal chapels.

Master and commander thomas tallis biography

He was given the lease of a big house in Kent and a salary of £91 12s a year (12s is 60p in modern money). That was a very good salary in those days. In 1575, Queen Elizabeth I gave Tallis and William Byrd a licence which meant they were the only people allowed to print and publish music in England (music printing was a very new invention at the time).

Tallis owned a house