In nomine

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In nomine (In the name). A type of contrapuntal instr. comp. by 16th-cent. Eng. comps., usually for consort of viols but sometimes for lute or kbd. based on a version of a piece of plainchant. First used by Taverner, when he comp. an instr. piece based on the theme to which he set the words ‘In nomine Domini’ in his Gloria Tibi Trinitas Mass. This set a fashion, and the name ‘In nomine’ was adopted for this type of piece. Several 20th-cent. composers have quoted In Nomines in their works, e.g. Maxwell Davies and R. Smalley.

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