The earliest works by Tallis that survive are devotional antiphons to the Virgin Mary, which were used outside the liturgy and were cultivated in England until the fall of Cardinal Wolsey. He remained in the service of the Sovereign for the rest of his life as organist and composer, avoiding the religious controversies that raged around him. His career took him to Lo ndon, then organist of Waltham Abbey, until the abbey was dissolved in 1540, then Canterbury Cathedral, and finally to court as Gentleman of the Chapel Royal in 1543, composing and performing for Henry VIII, Edward VI, Queen Mary, and Queen Elizabeth. His first known appointment to a musical position was as organist of Dover Priory, a Benedictine priory at Dover (now Dover College) in 1532.
Little is known about his early life, but there seems to be agreement that he was born around 1505, toward the close of the reign of Henry VII. He occupies a primary place in anthologies of English church music, and is considered among the best of its earliest composers. Tallis flourished as a church musician during the often stormy sixteenth century in England. Thomas Tallis (c 1510?23 November 1585) was an English composer.
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