Ye Sacred Muses is William Byrd's Musical elegy on the death of his colleague and mentor, Thomas Tallis, in the form of a secular madrigal.
It is scored for 5 voices (usually four viols and countertenor), though the vocal part is scored for treble voice, or a cappella SATTB choir.
The words are:- The concluding lines are particularly effective and are repeated.
The tonality of the piece is slightly ambiguous, as despite its ending on a D major chord, it never really settles in any one key.
Byrd's use of the Dorian mode can be seen in the very first phrase of the piece.