The piece opens his First Set of Madrigals and Motets of 5 parts, published in London by Thomas Snodham in 1612 with support from the composer's patron Christopher Hatton.

An exception to this conservatism occurs when an augmented fifth chord, including a dissonance that is left unprepared, is dramatically used on the word "death" to achieve a special text painting effect.

The English composer Orlando Gibbons (1583–1625) published his First Set of Madrigals and Motets of 5 parts in 1612;[1] its opening song is "The Silver Swan",[2] printed as The filuer [sic] Swanne, who liuing had no note.

[3] Published in London by Thomas Snodham, the assignee of William Barley, the Madrigals and Motets forms the core of the composer's secular vocal music.

[19] "The Silver Swan" in particular is contrapuntally similar to the composer's First (Short) Service in F,[20] and shows a musical affinity to William Byrd, Gibbons's esteemed elder contemporary.

[2] This older stylism received criticism from composer Howard Orsmond Anderton [ca] (1861–1934), who praised the song's memorable tune, but described it as "somewhat slight" and with little madrigalesque imitation.

"The Silver Swan" easily permits the lead cantus/soprano part to be used for solo performance, accompanied by four viols;[26][b] in this voice, repeated words are absent and the text is set mostly syllabically.

"[31] The tradition dates back to at least 458 BCE with the play Agamemnon by Aeschylus;[32] other notable examples include two separate poems entitled "The Dying Swan" by Lord Alfred Tennyson and Thomas Sturge Moore.

[31] The author of "The Silver Swan"'s text is unknown; the poet Carol Rumens noted that "most informed commentators have wisely settled for [an] Anon[ymous writer]".

[38] In another setting by Orazio Vecchi, Guidiccioni's poem was translated into English by Nicholas Yonge as "The white delightful Swanne [sic] sweet singing dyeth" for book two of his 1597 Musica Transalpina madrigal collection.