Thomas Tallis Quiz Questions and Answers
Q1. In which century did Thomas Tallis primarily compose his music?
A. 15th century
B. 16th century
C. 17th century
D. 18th century
Answer: B. 16th century
Q2. Thomas Tallis served as a composer and organist under how many English monarchs?
A. Two
B. Three
C. Four
D. Five
Answer: C. Four
Q3. Which of Tallis’s works is considered one of the most complex 40-part motets ever written?
A. Gaude gloriosa
B. Spem in alium
C. Salvator mundi
D. O nata lux
Answer: B. Spem in alium
Q4. Tallis, along with William Byrd, was granted a joint monopoly for what activity in 1575?
A. Printing polyphonic music
B. Manufacturing organs
C. Composing anthems for the Chapel Royal
D. Importing Italian madrigals
Answer: A. Printing polyphonic music
Q5. What was the original religious function of Tallis’s composition Lamentations of Jeremiah?
A. Funeral service
B. Matins for Holy Week
C. Coronation ceremony
D. Wedding mass
Answer: B. Matins for Holy Week
Q6. Which English cathedral is most closely associated with Tallis’s early career?
A. St. Paul’s Cathedral
B. Canterbury Cathedral
C. Waltham Abbey
D. York Minster
Answer: C. Waltham Abbey
Q7. Tallis’s Missa Puer natus est nobis is based on a plainchant traditionally sung on which feast day?
A. Christmas
B. Pentecost
C. Easter
D. Epiphany
Answer: A. Christmas
Q8. In which collection did Tallis and Byrd publish their joint motets Cantiones Sacrae?
A. 1555
B. 1575
C. 1595
D. 1605
Answer: B. 1575
Q9. Which of Tallis’s English anthems is a setting of the text “If ye love me”?
A. Hear the voice and prayer
B. O Lord, give thy Holy Spirit
C. If ye love me
D. Verily, verily I say unto you
Answer: C. If ye love me
Q10. Tallis’s Third Mode Melody later became the basis for which composer’s orchestral work Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis?
A. Benjamin Britten
B. Ralph Vaughan Williams
C. Edward Elgar
D. Gustav Holst
Answer: B. Ralph Vaughan Williams
Q11. What stylistic feature characterizes Tallis’s early Latin motets such as Ave rosa sine spinis?
A. Imitative polyphony
B. Extreme chromaticism
C. Homophonic texture
D. Monophonic chant
Answer: A. Imitative polyphony
Q12. Which monarch dissolved Waltham Abbey in 1540, prompting Tallis to seek new employment?
A. Henry VII
B. Henry VIII
C. Edward VI
D. Mary I
Answer: B. Henry VIII
Q13. Tallis’s Preces and Responses (Second Set) are written for how many voice parts?
A. Five
B. Six
C. Seven
D. Eight
Answer: A. Five
Q14. Which of the following is NOT a known mass setting by Thomas Tallis?
A. Missa Salve intemerata
B. Missa Puer natus est nobis
C. Missa sine nomine
D. Missa Papae Marcelli
Answer: D. Missa Papae Marcelli – composed by Palestrina
Q15. Tallis’s hymn tune “Tallis’s Canon” is most famously paired with which text in later hymnals?
A. Amazing Grace
B. All Praise to Thee, My God, This Night
C. Glory to Thee, My God, This Night
D. Abide with Me
Answer: C. Glory to Thee, My God, This Night
Q16. Which compositional technique is prominently used in Spem in alium to create spatial effects?
A. Antiphony between choirs
B. Ground bass
C. Isorhythm
D. Canon at the unison
Answer: A. Antiphony between choirs
Q17. Tallis’s O sacrum convivium is a motet that sets a text from the writings of which saint?
A. St. Augustine
B. St. Thomas Aquinas
C. St. Bernard of Clairvaux
D. St. Ignatius of Loyola
Answer: B. St. Thomas Aquinas
Q18. In which decade did Tallis likely compose his English Service (the “Short Service”)?
A. 1530s
B. 1540s
C. 1550s
D. 1560s
Answer: D. 1560s
Q19. Which instrument did Tallis play professionally throughout much of his career?
A. Lute
B. Viol
C. Organ
D. Harpsichord
Answer: C. Organ
Q20. Tallis’s motet In ieiunio et fletu is written for how many voices?
A. Four
B. Five
C. Six
D. Seven
Answer: B. Five
Q21. Which of Tallis’s works was adapted into an Anglican anthem under the title “Wipe away my sins”?
A. Absterge Domine
B. Salvator mundi
C. Miserere nostri
D. Te lucis ante terminum
Answer: A. Absterge Domine
Q22. The Dorian or Short Service by Tallis includes settings of which liturgical texts?
A. Magnificat and Nunc dimittis only
B. Kyrie, Credo, Sanctus, Agnus Dei
C. Venite, Te Deum, Benedictus, Magnificat, Nunc dimittis
D. Preces, Responses, Psalms
Answer: C. Venite, Te Deum, Benedictus, Magnificat, Nunc dimittis
Q23. Which publisher issued the first printed edition of Spem in alium in the 17th century?
A. Thomas Este
B. John Barnard
C. Thomas Morley
D. William Byrd
Answer: B. John Barnard
Q24. Tallis’s Videte miraculum is a respond motet for which liturgical feast?
A. Candlemas
B. All Saints
C. Ascension
D. Corpus Christi
Answer: A. Candlemas
Q25. Which of the following statements about Tallis’s English Service music is true?
A. It uses elaborate polyphony throughout
B. It is predominantly syllabic and homophonic
C. It incorporates lute accompaniment
D. It is scored for eight choirs
Answer: B. It is predominantly syllabic and homophonic