Number one on my list of favorite pieces of music (and music that moves me) is Greensleeves. I’m not sure when I first sung or heard it. It appeared in the new Lutheran hymnal in the mid-‘50s as “What Child is This” and the original ballad could be heard as part of the folk song renaissance. It was known in Shakespeare’s time and dates to the reign of Henry XIII and was probably composed by Henry himself.
I love the tune (and words) in any form including the ever popular carol, both in and out of church, and Ralph Vaughn Williams Fantasia. Even the Kingston Trio’s (as the Chun Kingston Trio) take off titled “Green Stamps” is notable. Something about the tune and the original or carol words act as a time machine for me, taking me back to Renaissance times, profoundly moving indeed.