William Byrd - Domine secundum actum meum - from the film “Elizabeth“ - Night of the Long Knives

Latin: “Domine secundum actum meum noli me iudicare nihil dignum in conspectu tuo egi ideo deprecor maiestatem tuam ut tu Deus deleas iniquitatem meam.“ English: “Lord do not judge me after my deeds; I have done nothing worthy in your eyes. Therefore I beseech You in Your majesty to deliver me from my sins.“ This music haunted me when I first heard it during the Night of the Long Knives sequence in the film “Elizabeth“. NOTE: The painting captioned “Queen Jane Seymour“ is actually the young Queen Elizabeth. Thanks to “catsatonthemat“ for pointing out my mistake. I hope it does not detract too much. From a post regarding the film sequence on YouTube : “The exquisite tenor voice belongs to Australia’s David Hobson - displaying his finest haute-contre tessitura - accompanied by the Australian Boys Choir. All the soundtrack music was recorded in Melbourne at composer David Hirschfelder’s insistence, so most of the artists (both singers and musicians) are locals, whilst soprano Kim Wheeler and the New London Consort, with director Philip Pickett, travelled from London“. For me, the most powerful moment in the film. So I thought I’d post a clip featuring portraits of the important figures from the Tudor period, starting with Henry VIII and his six wives, and ending of course with the the marvellous Gloriana herself.