This joyous 6-part motet is a welcome addition to the flute choir repertoire. In polyphonic and imitative style, each voice is important to the overall structure. A student of Thomas Tallis, William Byrd was the leading English composer of his time, a great master of the Renaissance along with Giovanni Palestrina and Orlando de Lassus, and left a huge legacy of printed music. The lyrics are: “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Alleluia.” Each time the word rejoice appears, the melody ascends, giving added brightness and lift. The common pronunciation of “Haec” is “eck” although it may also be pronounced as “hike.” Haec dies means this is the day.

Composer: Anne McGinty
Instrumentation: 5 C Flutes & Alto Flute
Duration/# of Pages: ca. 2:15 / 13 pages, 8.5″ x 11″
Key: N/A