In some ways Thomas Tomkins was a man born just too late. As a composer drawn to the contrapuntal forms and styles established by Byrd and Gibbons he suffered the indignation of watching the demise of church organs and the rich choral tradition under the Puritans, and in his last years withdrew from public life to study the music of his predecessors and write largely unfashionable keyboard music. Tomkins was born in 1572 in St. Davids, Pembrokeshire, where his father was vicar-choral in the cathedral, later moving to Gloucester. He was appointed 'instructor choristarum' at Worcester cathedral in 1596, but may have worked in London prior to this, as he referred to William Byrd as 'my ancient, & much reverenced Master'. By the 1620s he was combining his duties at Worcester with membership of the Chapel Royal, and was involved with the musical ceremonies for the coronation of Charles I. But the final decade before his death in 1656 must have been a period of frustration, with few opportunities for performance of his music, and little inclination to write in the new lighter styles emanating from the continent. Tomkins' reputation until the rediscovery of his keyboard and consort works largely rested on the magnificent edition of his church music published in 1668 under the title Musica Deo Sacra.