If ye love me

"If ye love me" is a four-part motet or anthem by the English composer Thomas Tallis, a setting of a passage from the Gospel of John.

An early English-language motet, it is frequently performed today, and has been sung at special occasions including a papal visit and a royal wedding.

[1] It uses verses from the Gospel of John, words spoken by Jesus to his disciples foretelling his own death and promising that God the Father will send to them the Holy Spirit (a "Comforter"):[2] If ye love me, keep my commandments.

[7] "If Ye Love Me" is a setting for an a cappella choir of four voice parts, and it is a noted example of this Reformation compositional style, essentially homophonic[citation needed] but with some elaboration and imitation.

[14] The anthem was chosen to be sung when Pope Benedict XVI attended evensong at Westminster Abbey during his 2010 visit to the United Kingdom,[15] and also at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle in 2018.

If Ye Love Me in the Wanley Partbooks of c. 1548–1550 (staves 3–5, what is now the soprano part)