John Taverner (1490-1545) was an important English composer of the Reformation period, highly regarded for his masses and motets. Taverner is thought to have composed most of his music during the 1520s, particularly in his capacity as Master of Choristers at Cardinals College, Oxford. Implication in a religious scandal in 1527 preceded his departure from the college, and his later work in the 1530s as an agent of the Crown involved in the forfeiture of church properties also created controversy. Aspects of the composer's life were the subject matter of Taverner, a 1972 opera by Peter Maxwell Davies.