A survey of the huge importance of Thomas Tallis, the `Father of Church Music', on Victorian musical life. A survey of the huge importance of Thomas Tallis, the `Father of Church Music', on Victorian musical life. This book examines in detail the reception of two works that lie at the stylistic extremes of his output: 'Spem in alium', revived in the 1830s, though generally not greatly admired, and the 'Responses', which were very popular. In Victorian England, Tallis was ever-present: in performances of his music, in accounts of his biography, and through his representation in physical monuments. Known in the nineteenth century as the 'Father of English Church Music', Tallis occupies a central position in the history of the music of the Anglican Church. Dr SUE COLE is a research associate at the Faculty of Music, University of Melbourne.