Although in his formal procedures Taverner is considered to follow in the footsteps of his English predecessors to a large degree, certain features are original, including parody technique. All the passages in Taverner's Mass Mater Christi are derived from "vitalis cibus," a phrase from the parent antiphon. The bulk of Taverner's setting is in exact parody, entailing only minimal changes such as melodic decoration and minor rhythmic variants; his approach almost nears contrafactum. Yet Mater Christi also provides some examples of less strict modeling and imitation of the antiphon phrase, exhibiting Taverner's awareness of the possibilities of parody technique.

Works: Taverner: Western Wynde (191-93), Mater Christi (201-8), Small Devotion (208).

Sources: "Western Wynde" (191-92), Mater Christi, antiphon (201-8), Christe Jesu, antiphon (208-9).

Index Classifications: 1500s

Contributed by: David Oliver