Thomas Tallis recordings?

Esther

New member
Hello! Since starting university in Oxford I've been to several Evensong services at different colleges, and it's got me really interested in choral music. I'd like to get some CDs of different composers' choral music, but I know very little about which recordings are good recordings, and being a student I don't really have the money to buy lots of them. So I was hoping some of you lovely people could advise me. I'm going to start with Thomas Tallis, because not only is his music incredible, but he also has a really fantastic name. Thomas Tallis. Isn't it great? Just rolls off the tongue. Anyway, I'd really like to get a good quality set with as many pieces as possible, but preferably quite cheap. It's probably too much to ask for, but any advice would be much appreciated. As a rough guide, the recordings I've been looking at on Amazon are sung by King's and St John's Colleges, Cambridge; the Tallis Scholars; and the Taverner Choir. Thanks for any help! E
 
Contratrombone64

Contratrombone64

Admiral of Fugues
Esther, yes, welcome to MIMF ... a great place to drop in and make new friends.

The church I attend is branded as "high church" and we often have the mass setting in latin and quite often in a Tallis setting. I love this style of choral music, too, very much.
 
Fretless

Fretless

Member
I own this recording, and it's quite good:
Spem in Alium--Winchester Cathedral

It's not a cheap disc, but if you're not afraid of buying used CDs, the used price is quite reasonable.

Spem in Alium is just a huge work--it's a 40-part motet. The other pieces are quite nice to listen to as well, though I'm far from knowledgeable about what makes them stand out. It's been about 17 years since I have been required to know about the latin mass and the intricacies and differences of the composers of the time, and I'm not Catholic or especially religious, so I don't identify with the music really through the text or the placement of the movements in a religious setting--but the music is so beautiful that it doesn't matter, it still reaches into your soul.
 
Contratrombone64

Contratrombone64

Admiral of Fugues
Fretless - isn't Spem in Alium just so divine. I simply MUST put it on my iPod and go sit in the middle of a quiet park and listen to it at sunrise!!
 
Fretless

Fretless

Member
Contratrombone64 said:
Fretless - isn't Spem in Alium just so divine. I simply MUST put it on my iPod and go sit in the middle of a quiet park and listen to it at sunrise!!
Click to expand...

Agreed--since the weather is finally above 40F here I may need to do the same (minus the sunrise--I can't quite manage that at this point).
 
Soubasse

Soubasse

New member
Spem has never moved from a short list I have of pieces which far surpass anything that any religion has to offer in terms of contentment and peace (it's up there along with another piece to which we owe TT a great debt; Vaughan-Williams Fantasia On A Theme By Thomas Tallis) ... you know, one of those "So what do you have to show for your life?" sorts of pieces.

When I was burgled many years ago, of the few discs that I had to replace because I couldn't be without it, was the all-Tallis disc by The Sixteen, directed by Harry Christophers (naturally they brought along some friends for their recording of Spem). This is one of my favourite discs of things TT (btw, it's Chandos Chaconne CD 0513 but I'm not sure if it's still in circulation - well worth having though).

Spem is one of those pieces that can't fail to send tingles down the spine, doubly so at a live performance. If it's performed properly, ie, with the eight 5-part choirs surrounding the audience, it has a uniquely transportive effect as it did for me the first time I sat in the middle of such a performance. Once you've heard it like that, it's hard to go back to a CD. A good case for a surround-sound recording methinks. Anyone know of one?

Singing in it feels like an immense privilege too - I've been privileged twice!:)
 

rovikered

New member
Soubasse said:
Spem has never moved from a short list I have of pieces which far surpass anything that any religion has to offer in terms of contentment and peace (it's up there along with another piece to which we owe TT a great debt; Vaughan-Williams Fantasia On A Theme By Thomas Tallis) ... you know, one of those "So what do you have to show for your life?" sorts of pieces.

When I was burgled many years ago, of the few discs that I had to replace because I couldn't be without it, was the all-Tallis disc by The Sixteen, directed by Harry Christophers (naturally they brought along some friends for their recording of Spem). This is one of my favourite discs of things TT (btw, it's Chandos Chaconne CD 0513 but I'm not sure if it's still in circulation - well worth having though).

Spem is one of those pieces that can't fail to send tingles down the spine, doubly so at a live performance. If it's performed properly, ie, with the eight 5-part choirs surrounding the audience, it has a uniquely transportive effect as it did for me the first time I sat in the middle of such a performance. Once you've heard it like that, it's hard to go back to a CD. A good case for a surround-sound recording methinks. Anyone know of one?

Singing in it feels like an immense privilege too - I've been privileged twice!:)
Click to expand...

That Chandos Chaconne CD0513 is in my collection, too. 'The Sixteen' is amongst the finest choirs of its kind.
 
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