This volume investigates the structural and liturgical development of the anthem as a primary musical form within the sixteenth-century English church. Christopher Morris, a noted scholar in early music, synthesizes historical liturgical requirements with the evolving compositional techniques of the era. The book provides a framework for understanding how composers navigated the transition from Latin motets to the vernacular English anthem during the Reformation.

Experts identify this work as a foundational reference for musicologists and choral directors interested in the Tudor period. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose and the precision of the musical examples provided.