Dum transisset Sabbatum (I)

for SATBarB unaccompaniedJohn Taverner's Respond 'Dum transisset Sabbatum' (I) is now established as one of the finest examples of English polyphony composed in the last days of the Sarum Rite. Scored for SATBarB, alternating polyphony and plainchant, its long-flowing and graceful lines carry the story of the three women arriving at the empty tomb on Easter morning bringing spices to anoint the body of Jesus. This new edition presents a reconstruction of the original form of the Respond, together with an alternative opening that allows the performance of the shorter version that was fashioned later in the sixteenth century.