Gordon Jacob, a native of London, ranks as one of the foremost contributors to the repertoire of original works for large wind ensembles. He composed this Suite in 1923 as his contribution to the tercentenary of William Byrd's death; Byrd (1539 – 1623) was the foremost composer of the Elizabethan age and among the three or four English composers since the Renaissance who have stood as equals with their continental contemporaries. The Suite is Jacob's setting of six Byrd pieces that he felt were appropriate to the tonal framework of the British military band and at the same time portray the harmonic charm and rhythmic vitality that characterized the English madrigal and keyboard style of Byrd's time. The concluding movement opens with a simple two-note rising figure that persists throughout