Since The Great Service was rediscovered in manuscripts at Durham, it has come to be recognised not only as Byrd's most important work for the Anglican church, but also as one of the masterpieces of Elizabethan art. In the hope of recapturing the composer’s intentions as nearly as possible, the present edition follows the scoring of pre-Restoration sources more precisely than did either Fellowes or Tudor Church Music, and restores the parts that have subsequently come to light.