Biography
Mundy and his son John have long been mistaken for each other, since scholars have yet to separate their individual output with certainty. Any work simply credited to “Mundy” therefore leaves the true author uncertain. The elder composer’s career included service as chorister at Westminster Abbey in 1543, parish clerk at St Mary-at-Hill in 1548, vicar-choral at St Paul’s Cathedral, and, from 1564 onward, Gentleman of the Chapel Royal. Pieces that can be assigned securely to William Mundy comprise the Evening Service in C fa ut, O Lord the maker, O Lord, I bow the knees, the extended votive antiphons Ah helpless wretch, Vox Patris caelestis, Maria virgo sanctissima, and Miserere mei Deus. These anthems are through-composed, frequently adopt verse-anthem layouts, employ imitation, and range from one to five voices supported by organ. Although the antiphons remain elaborate and richly textured, their melodic contours stay narrowly focused; Vox Patris caelestis, for instance, consistently centers on the pitch D, while Maria virgo sanctissima maintains a prevailing F cadence broken by only a single exception. Miserere mei Deus, by contrast, was scored for six voices.