Silver - The Best of The Tallis Scholars

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Record and Artist Details

Composer or Director: William Mundy, John Taverner, Thomas Tallis, Josquin Desprez, Jacob Obrecht, William Byrd

Label: Classics

Magazine Review Date: 13/1998

Media Format: CD or Download

Media Runtime: 71

Mastering:

DDD

Catalogue Number: 454 998-2PH

Tracks:

Composition	Artist Credit
Cantiones, quae ab argumento sacrae vocantur, Movement: Tribue, Domine (6vv)	William Byrd, Composer Peter Phillips, Conductor Tallis Scholars William Byrd, Composer
Absalon fili mi	Josquin Desprez, Composer Josquin Desprez, Composer Peter Phillips, Conductor Tallis Scholars
Gaude Virgo, Mater Christi	Josquin Desprez, Composer Josquin Desprez, Composer Peter Phillips, Conductor Tallis Scholars
Adolescentulus sum ego	William Mundy, Composer Peter Phillips, Conductor Tallis Scholars William Mundy, Composer
Vox patris caelestis	William Mundy, Composer Peter Phillips, Conductor Tallis Scholars William Mundy, Composer
Salve regina	Jacob Obrecht, Composer Jacob Obrecht, Composer Peter Phillips, Conductor Tallis Scholars
O sacrum convivium	Thomas Tallis, Composer Peter Phillips, Conductor Tallis Scholars Thomas Tallis, Composer
Gaude plurimum	John Taverner, Composer John Taverner, Composer Peter Phillips, Conductor Tallis Scholars

Composer or Director: William Cornysh, Thomas Tallis, Jacobus Clemens Non Papa, Cipriano de Rore, Orlande de Lassus, John Sheppard, Heinrich Isaac, Tomás Luis de Victoria, Robert White, William Byrd, Gregorio Allegri, Giovanni Palestrina, Josquin Desprez, Antoine Brumel

Label: Classics

Magazine Review Date: 13/1998

Media Format: CD or Download

Media Runtime: 156

Mastering:

DDD

Catalogue Number: 454 990-2PM2

Tracks:

Composition	Artist Credit
Miserere mei	Gregorio Allegri, Composer Gregorio Allegri, Composer Peter Phillips, Conductor Tallis Scholars
Ave Maria, gratia plena	Tomás Luis de Victoria, Composer Peter Phillips, Conductor Tallis Scholars Tomás Luis de Victoria, Composer
Sicut lilium inter spinas I	Giovanni Palestrina, Composer Giovanni Palestrina, Composer Peter Phillips, Conductor Tallis Scholars
Praeter rerum seriem	Josquin Desprez, Composer Josquin Desprez, Composer Peter Phillips, Conductor Tallis Scholars
Pater peccavi	Jacobus Clemens Non Papa, Composer Jacobus Clemens Non Papa, Composer Peter Phillips, Conductor Tallis Scholars
Ego flos campi	Jacobus Clemens Non Papa, Composer Jacobus Clemens Non Papa, Composer Peter Phillips, Conductor Tallis Scholars
Tota pulchra es	Heinrich Isaac, Composer Heinrich Isaac, Composer Peter Phillips, Conductor Tallis Scholars
Descendi in ortum meum	Cipriano de Rore, Composer Cipriano de Rore, Composer Peter Phillips, Conductor Tallis Scholars
Salve regina mater	Orlande de Lassus, Composer Orlande de Lassus, Composer Peter Phillips, Conductor Tallis Scholars
Alma redemptoris mater	Orlande de Lassus, Composer Orlande de Lassus, Composer Peter Phillips, Conductor Tallis Scholars
Ave regina caelorum	Orlande de Lassus, Composer Orlande de Lassus, Composer Peter Phillips, Conductor Tallis Scholars
Missa, 'Et ecce terrae motus'	Antoine Brumel, Composer Antoine Brumel, Composer Peter Phillips, Conductor Tallis Scholars
Media vita	John Sheppard, Composer John Sheppard, Composer Peter Phillips, Conductor Tallis Scholars
In manus tuas	Thomas Tallis, Composer Peter Phillips, Conductor Tallis Scholars Thomas Tallis, Composer
O nata lux de lumine	Thomas Tallis, Composer Peter Phillips, Conductor Tallis Scholars Thomas Tallis, Composer
Audivi vocem de caelo	Thomas Tallis, Composer Peter Phillips, Conductor Tallis Scholars Thomas Tallis, Composer
Exaudiat te Dominus	Robert White, Composer Peter Phillips, Conductor Robert White, Composer Tallis Scholars
Ah, Robin	William Cornysh, Composer Peter Phillips, Conductor Tallis Scholars William Cornysh, Composer
Salve regina	William Cornysh, Composer Peter Phillips, Conductor Tallis Scholars William Cornysh, Composer
Mass for five voices	William Byrd, Composer Peter Phillips, Conductor Tallis Scholars William Byrd, Composer

Author: David Fallows

These recordings mark 25 years from the first concert that Peter Phillips directed, including three singers who are still associated with The Tallis Scholars. Their first record came out in 1976 (which I remember clearly, as it came with a kind note from the unknown young conductor to the reviewer who had just written his first Gramophone pieces), so there may be more celebrations in 2001. But there is already much to celebrate. They have surely contributed more than any other group to making renaissance choral music with mixed voices a commercial reality. Phillips writes: “All the music sung here benefits from clarity, both in the singing and the surrounding building”; and that ideal, relatively new in 1973, has perhaps been the main factor in their astonishing success.
Other factors are the consistently flawless balance and the extraordinary musical flexibility of their best singers. There are listeners who have become tired of what can seem their perfection-above-all-else approach. So this is perhaps a moment to remember that we are exceptionally lucky to have The Tallis Scholars, as well as the other ensembles that have arisen from their lead. There are other ways of doing the music, but enormous quantities of renaissance polyphony have been recorded in the last quarter century by English groups in performances of a stunningly high musical quality. My guess is that future listeners will look back on this as a golden age, largely fuelled by The Tallis Scholars.
Both anthologies cover the most significant of their repertory, English and mainland-continental from about 1480 to the end of the sixteenth century. The “Live in Oxford” disc suffers from a few tentative entries (though no audience noise, which is slightly puzzling: what is meant by “live”?), but is consistently exciting, from the glorious opening six-voice Salve regina of Obrecht to the wonderful 18-minute Vox patris caelestis of William Mundy. The two-disc retrospective opens with their famous 1980 recording of the Allegri Miserere and includes many of my own favourites from their output, among them the Gloria from their beautifully clear and muscular reading of the Brumel Et ecce terrae motus Mass and the whole of their 1984 recording of Byrd’s five-voice Mass. Plenty to celebrate then; and plenty to look forward to in the future.'

Tallis Scholars - Live in Oxford

Cantiones, quae ab argumento sacrae vocantur, Movement: Tribue, Domine (6vv)

Absalon fili mi

Gaude Virgo, Mater Christi

Adolescentulus sum ego

Vox patris caelestis

Salve regina

O sacrum convivium

Gaude plurimum