Programme

Josquin des Prez (c.1450–1521) - Kyrie from Missa Pange lingua 

Thomas Tallis (c.1505-1585) - In manus tuas 

William Byrd (1539/40–1623) - Haec dies 

Robert Parsons (c.1535-1572) - Ave Maria 

Giovanni Palestrina (c.1525-1594) - Sicut cervus 

Tomás Luis de Victoria( c.1548-1611) - O quam gloriosum 

More details here.

Brighton Early Music Festival at Christmas

 

Tickets here.

The Tallis Scholars - 2000 concerts and counting!

© Eric Richmond

The Tallis Scholars
Peter Phillips (Director)

Taverner (c.1490-1545):    Leroy Kyrie
Sheppard (1515-1558):  Missa Cantate

Gabriel Jackson (b.1962):  Ave Dei patria filia
Byrd (c.1539-1623): Infelix ego
Ye Sacred Muses
Tribue Domine

Encores:
Tallis (c.1505-1585):  Miserere nostri
Stanford (1852-1924):  The Blue Bird

St John's Smith Square, 21 September 2015

«««««

© Albert Roosenburg

2000 concerts in 42 years – an impressive statistic by any standard. The Tallis Scholars, now performing at a rate of roughly 100 concerts a year, with their founding director, Peter Phillips, chose to celebrate their 2000^th concert in relatively low key style, compared with their gala 40^th anniversary year concert at St Paul’s a couple of years ago. No expanded forces for Spem in Alium this time, but their more standard line-up of just 12 voices – a suitable way to celebrate such an achievement of such regular and consistent live performance, perhaps. However, three works from that concert appeared on tonight’s programme (although one as an encore), appropriately reflecting The Tallis Scholars’ repertoire with Renaissance polyphony combined with a contemporary choral work from Gabriel Jackson.

But the first half of their concert was dominated by a performance of the mammoth Missa Cantate by John Sheppard (1515-1558). Little is known about the detail of Sheppard’s life and music, which goes only some way to explaining why his wonderful music is not performed as often as Tallis or Byrd, say. One reason why the Missa Cantate in particular is not so often performed is the incredible stamina required to sustain a complete live performance. The Tallis Scholars wisely took short breathers between sections, yet even then, this is a pretty relentless challenge for just 12 voices, 2 to a part, with pretty much no let up.  Needless to say, The Tallis Scholars showed themselves more than up to this challenge however.

They preceded the mass with Taverner’s (c.1490-1545) Leroy Kyrie, so called as it is believed the tune may have been composed by King Henry IV or V. Immediately we heard The Tallis Scholars’ trademark smooth blend and bell-like high sopranos, setting the seen for the Missa Cantate to follow. In the opening Gloria, after the initial entries, Sheppard weaves the lower voices in and out in an almost hypnotic fashion, and the melismatic writing for tu solus (‘thou alone’) is exquisite, with more animation for cum Sancto Spiritu, and a glorious build to the Amen. Sheppard works his way through the Credo using the six voice parts in varied combinations, but also uses unexpected harmonic shifts (such as at ‘caelis’) to keep listeners and performers on their toes. Phillips and The Tallis Scholars managed the ebb and flow of the music within the overall arc of the whole mass with impressive ease, and the serenity of the Sanctus setting was contrasted well with the emphatic Hosannas, ending with a calming Agnus Dei, the lower voices particularly smooth and silky here. Having reached the end, Phillips and The Tallis Scholars deservedly enjoyed the sudden false relation and ‘blue’ notes Sheppard throws in towards the final cadence.

© Joel Garthwaite

The Tallis Scholars commissioned two works to celebrate their 40^th anniversary, one from Eric Whitacre, and the other from Gabriel Jackson, and both were premièred at their anniversary concert at St Paul’s two years ago. Jackson’s Ave Dei patris filia opens with a joyful ‘Ave’, with all voices swooping in birdlike fashion. The use of repeated turns, particularly in the higher voices, is a striking feature throughout the work. There is limited use of overt dissonance, really only obvious in the Ave plena gracia section, and its economical use here is all the more effective for it, with bright soprano lines in a tight interplay. Jackson also frequently sets a melismatic soprano line against staccato rhythms in the other voices. These rhythms are particularly playful and bouncy in the penultimate Ave virgo feta section, which builds wonderfully to a return of the opening swooping for the final glorious praise and amen. It was great to hear this wonderful piece performed again, especially with the detail articulated in a slightly less challenging acoustic than St Paul’s.

The remainder of the programme focussed on Byrd, with two monumental votive antiphon motets that share a great deal in form and style, despite being composed some 15 or so years apart. The structure of both is comparable, with broadly similar shapes to their sections, and they share Byrd’s unusual choice of transposed Lydian mode. They ended with Tribue Domine, the earlier work, but first came Infelix ego.  The text for this is a contemplation on Psalm 50 by the Italian priest Savonarola, written shortly before his execution. Understandably full of anguish and penitence, it is ultimately a plea for mercy, and Byrd mixes hefty sections of homophonic writing against a variety of polyphonic writing for varied combinations of the 6 parts. Yet this is a subtle setting – after total despair and the question ‘Despair?’, the answer, ‘Absit’ (I shall not) turns the priest’s focus to seeking pity and mercy, and Byrd makes this distinction clear.  The opening section from The Tallis Scholars here could have perhaps had more anguish, but the increasingly insistent pleas for mercy had real intensity, before the music subsides back to a more subservient penitence for the final words.

Before Tribue Domine, came Ye Sacred Muses, Byrd’s heartfelt elegy to Tallis, following his death in 1585. The final words, ‘Tallis is dead, and music dies’ merit perhaps a little more emotion than on display here, but this was nonetheless a respectfully sensitive yet firm performance.

The Tallis Scholars then closed the programme with Tribue Domine. As with Infelix ego, Byrd makes much use of varied part writing, but also a variety of dynamic textures, with animated entries at the opening contrasting smoother overlapping falling lines at the end of the first section, for example. The Gloria section is substantial, and the build to the final Amen proved a fitting end to this well constructed programme. 

Not one but two encores followed – first the brief yet achingly exquisite Miserere nostri from Tallis, and then, slightly out of left-field, Stanford’s Victorian gem, The Blue Bird, with the two top sopranos beautifully blended on the solo line.

With no sign of their schedule letting up in any way, the concert tally will no doubt continue to rise indefinitely, but tonight’s concert will certainly stand out as a landmark on the way towards their next milestone.  Happy 2000^th!

Old and new: passionate Tallis and striking Frances-Hoad from The Cardinall's Musick

© Dmitri Gutjahr

BBC Proms Chamber Music 1

The Cardinall's Musick
Andrew Carwood (Director)

Introduced by Petroc Trelawny









Tallis:  Videte miraculum
           O Lord, give thy Holy Spirit
           Hear the voice and prayer
           Why fum'th in fight?
           Suscipe quaeso
           O nata lux de lumine
           O sacrum convivium
           O salutaris hostia

Cheryl Frances-Hoad: From the Beginning of the World (world premiere)

Tallis: Spem in alium

Cadogan Hall, Monday 20 July 2015

'Andrew Carwood elicits a highly distinctive sound from the singers'.

On From the Beginning of the World:
'I hope this impressive work secures the further performances, and hopefully recording, that it deserves'.

On Spem in alum:
'The tutti sections had immense power, and the crescendo to the final cadence was truly magnificent'.

Read my full review on Bachtrack here.

Puer Natus Est - BREMF Consort of Voices - 29 November 2014

BREMF Consort of Voices, directed by Deborah Roberts, present a concert of music for Advent and Christmas.  The programme includes the Missa Puer natus est by Thomas Tallis, Salvator mundi by John Sheppard, the Magnificat Regale by Robert Fayrfax, and other works by Tallis, Sheppard and William Byrd.

There will be mince pies, mulled wine, fizz and candles - the perfect way to start your preparations for Christmas!

Saturday 29 November 2014, 6pm at St Paul's Church, West St, Brighton.

Tickets £12 (£10 conc) from here or on the door.

 Details on Facebook here, like us on Facebook here.

 @BREMF_BCV

Salve! Gaude!

BREMF Consort of Voices, Saturday 1 March 2014 Dispel the gloom of winter with a performance of music composed for the magnificent choirs of pre-Reformation and Marian England.  Works by Eton Choirbook composers John Browne, William Cornysh and Robert Fayrfax; and great ceremonial motets by John Taverner, Thomas Tallis, William Byrd and William Mundy. BREMF Consort of Voices, directed by Deborah Roberts. Saturday 1 March, 6pm, St Paul's Church, West Street, Brighton BN1 2RE. Tickets £12 (£10 conc.) from here or on the door. More details on Facebook here. Update - Latest 7 gave the concert a 4.5* review - here.

The Tallis Scholars - 40th Anniversary Concert

Photo © Clive Barda

It was a real privilege to be in the audience for the launch concert of The Tallis Scholars' 40th anniversary celebrations at St Paul's Cathedral on Thursday 7 March 2013.  I was expecting something special, but this concert must be up there with one of the best live music experiences I can remember.

On the programme were some expected 'hits' - Allegri's Miserere, Tallis' Spem in alium.  However, The Tallis Scholars certainly didn't just rely on the 'old favourites' here.  They could have done, and I'm sure the audience would have been happy.  But they used the occasion to show their versatility, and to show how alive and well choral composition is in the 21st century.  Three contemporary composers were present for the premieres (two world and one London) of their works, and all three pieces received warm receptions from the audience.

The concert began appropriately with Tallis - the beautiful yet complex Loquebantur variis linguis, followed by the brief but equally intricate Miserere.  What struck me most in both these pieces was how they drew the audience in, creating a sense of intimacy with some incredible pianissimo singing, particularly in the Miserere - quite an achievement in the cavernous St Paul's acoustic.  They then leapt forward in time, and in Arvo Pärt's Nunc Dimittis they now made full use of the massive resonant acoustic, and when Pärt's atmostpheric harmonies suddenly burst forth on the word 'Lumen', St Paul's was suddenly full of luminous warmth.

Gabriel Jackson & Eric Whitacre 

The first of the evening's premieres followed - Gabriel Jackson's Ave Dei partis filia.  In a highly effective piece, Jackson is clearly paying homage to the early English composers, yet his use of rhythm is strikingly contemporary.  This created some challenges for the Tallis Scholars, and they worked incredibly hard to ensure that the lively rhythms were clearly articulated.  I would be interested to know if this precision travelled right to the back of St Paul's, but certainly where I was the effect was arresting.  I look forward to hearing this piece again soon.

They closed the first half with Byrd's substantial Tribue, Domine dating from the composer's early career.   The second half of the concert began with Allegri's Miserere - for this, the solo quartet sang hidden somewhere - I think from the Whispering Gallery, but I'm not 100% sure!  As ever, the top Cs were spot on, ringing out throughout the cathedral.  Then it was Eric Whitacre's turn - his new piece, Sainte-Chapelle, was inspired by the stained glass in a 13th century chapel in Paris.  Here, the rhythmic interest centred around the repetition of the word 'Sanctus', and The text, by Whitacre's oft used collaborator, Charles Anthony Silvestri, creates the image of a young girl hearing the angels singing 'Sanctus' - and Whitacre uses the repetition of this word for the rhythmic focus of the piece.  In between, the scrunchy clusters and dissonances typical of Whitacre's music matched perfectly with The Tallis Scholars warm blended sound.

For the last two works, the core group were joined by more singers to perform two works for 40 voices. They began with a performance of Robin Walker's I have thee by the hand, O man.  This was commissioned 10 years ago by the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester as a companion piece to Tallis' Spem in alium, and 10 years on, it has now received its London premiere.  It is a lengthy piece, and unlike the Tallis, where the music sweeps through the eight choirs of five voices, Walker uses the choirs in a variety of ways.  It is an incredibly challenging piece, and there were one or two moments where some of the younger singers looked a little like rabbits in the headlights.  However, it is a great piece that deserves more exposure, and provided a great build-up to the final work of the programme, Tallis' Spem in alium.  It is always a challenge with this piece to achieve a unity of strength and sound across 40 individual voices, and here one or two soprano voices perhaps lacked the power of the more experienced TS members.  However, the meeting of all 40 voices on 'Respice' was electric, and this was a triumphant end to a fabulous concert.

As an encore, Peter Phillips brought us back down to earth with the core members performing Mouton's Salva nos, Domine.  This was actually a perfectly subdued and sublime ending after the drama of the Walker & Tallis, reminding us how much lesser-known repertoire The Tallis Scholars and Peter Phillips have brought to our ears over their 40 years so far - long may this continue!

Photo © Clive Barda

This review can also be found on the GScene website here.

You can also watch Eric Whitacre talking about Sainte-Chapelle here.  A recording of The Tallis Scholars singing the piece was released on 17 March 2013 - download it here.

The Tallis Scholars - 40th Anniversary

This month I want to highlight some rather special artists who are celebrating their 40^th anniversary this year – The Tallis Scholars, founded in 1973 by conductor Peter Phillips.  They are launching their celebratory world tour with a concert at St Paul’s Cathedral on 7 March – if you can make it, I recommend you do not miss this one.  They will be performed loved works such as Tallis’ 40-part motet Spem in Alium, and Allegri’s Misere, as well as premieres of works by Gabriel Jackson, Eric Whitacre, and the London premiere of Robin Walker’s I have thee by the hand, O man, a 40-part homage to Tallis’ piece.  I’ll be there, and a review will follow.  They’ve also released a great 2-CD volume called ‘Renaissance Radio’, including highlights of recordings from their vast back catalogue.  And they’ve put together a great programme.  There’s lots of Tallis, obviously, and Palestrina, Victoria and Sheppard are here too.  They kick off the first disc with Allegri’s MIsere – but perhaps not as you know it.  The version we are familiar with, so the story goes, is based on Mozart’s transcription of the ornaments as performed in the Sistene Chapel in Rome.  After many years of performing the work, with over 300 concert performances under her belt, soprano Deborah Roberts (yes, our own Co-Director of Brighton Early Music Festival) added her own startling and striking embellishments, providing a wonderful twist to an old favourite.  It’s hard to pick out favourites from this collection of 47 tracks – but apart from the Allegri, I’d have to include Mouton’s beautiful Salva nos, Domine (you can find a review of their full Mouton CD here), Brumel’s Agnus Dei II from his amazing ‘Earthquake Mass’, and Cornysh’s Ave Maria for men’s voices from the Eton Choirbook.  The recordings span 26 years, and the roll call of singers runs to 60 plus, including many singers who have gone on since to solo careers (such as Mark Padmore, Charles Daniels and Michael Chance).  If this wonderful ensemble is new to you, I highly recommend you start with this CD, get to the St Paul’s concert if you can, and then explore their massive back catalogue of wonderful recordings of Renassiance music and more.

Various. Rennaisance Radio. The Tallis Scholars, Peter Phillips. 2013. Compact Disc (2). Gimell. CDGIM 212.

(An edited version of this review will also appear in GScene magazine, March 2013)