Umpi, latinautor, public domain compositions, abramus digital, and 5 music rights societies. Spem in alium latin for hope in any other is a 40part renaissance motet by thomas tallis, composed in c. Spem in alium winchester cathedral choir, david hill on allmusic 1990. Tallis spem in alium phillips 2001 written by bluesever saturday, 31 may 2014 16. Thomas tallis spem in alium welcome to talk classical a community covering every aspect of classical music. Tallis also manages to combine the exchanges between. Spem in alium, an album by thomas tallis, choir of kings college, cambridge, cambridge university musical society chorus, john langdon, andrew davis, sir david willcocks on spotify. Thomas tallis was a composer who inclined toward musical extremes or sometimes was pushed toward them. Spem in alium was most probably written when the duke of norfolk, a highranking courtier in elizabeths time, challenged tallis to match the 40part motet by the visiting italian composer alessandro striggio. For efficient rehersal, certain files are required. It is truly a mark of genius that thomas tallis could so excel in the grand and the. Notes fortypart motets from the sixteenth century are an exceedingly rare species. Choir midi learning files for works by thomas tallis.
Let me recommend a number of recordings that, if y. I have listened to a broad range of renaissance choral music, mostly delving into the various masses. We know less about thomas tallis than shakespeare or any other major cultural. The rediscovery of the mass by davitt moroney and his researches have confirmed most of the salient details of this story, in particular verifying the account of one thomas wateridge, a.
In july 1561 cardinal ippolito deste was ceremonially welcomed to florence, probably the o. The 11 part arrangement of spem in alium is intended for use by anyone who does not. Never before has spem in alium, talliss great 40part motet, so closely. I love a lot of these choral works, but in addition to spem, the other work that has stood out to me is misereri from allegri. At the time there was competition between english and continental music publishers. Although tallis was not alone in this colleagues such as john sheppard and christopher tye were also active, tallis as the senior and more prolific composer was recognised as the father of the emerging style.
This paper is an analysis of thomas tallis 40voice motet spem in alium. The duke of norfolk issued a challenge to english musicians to better the italian effort and the result was spem in alium by thomas tallis. This double cd is a reissue of the best of their 3 discs of talliss music from the 1980s, and bears that out fully. Tribute to thomas tallis british composer thomas tallis was born 500 years ago. Another version says that tallis wrote the 40 part motet for the 40th birthday of queen elizabeth i in 1573. After a short interjection from choirs iii and iv which functions antiphonally as decani to the cantoris of choirs vii and viii tallis completes the circle with the entry of the.
From time to time a disc comes across the desk that is so superior that you have to fish for criticisms. The simplest explanation is that he was taking the number 40, often presented in the bible as having a mystical significance. One of his most celebrated pieces of choral music was spem. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Thomas tallis edited by philip brett spem in alium.
I feel my soul lifting as the music increases in volume and complexity, until it feels like. There may be other reasons for tallis choice of forty voices. The cardinalls musicks thrilling exploration of tallis sacred music comes to a glorious close with both versions of the great fortypart motet. Arundel house was the london home of henry fitzalan, the 12th earl of arundel. Fifty shades of grey sends sales of thomas talliss spem in alium soaring this article is more than 7 years old. Tallis spem in alium has a mammoth 40 melodic lines. Nonsuch also possessed an octagonal banqueting hall with four first.
As i believe that a healthy balance of praise and constructive critique is a good thing, and lends more to the credibility of the writer, i never hesitate to make suggestions for improvement, even on. Spem in alium nunquam habui motet by tallis britannica. The lamentations of jeremiah, an album by thomas tallis, choir of kings college, cambridge, stephen cleobury on spotify we and our partners use cookies to personalize your experience, to show you ads based on your interests, and for measurement and analytics purposes. Stream adfree with amazon music unlimited on mobile, desktop, and. Rehersal files for spem in alium nuncuam habui by thomas tallis thomas tallis spem in alium is composed for 40 voices grouped as 8 quintets ensembles with s,m,a,t,b. Spem in aliumthis piece, spem in alium numquam habui i have no faith in any other than god, is tallis most famous piece. However his country residence, nonsuch palace, possessed an octagonal banqueting hall, and a catalogue of music in the library at nonsuch, drawn up in 1596, reveals the existence of a score of spem in alium. Tallis spem in alium and other works oxford cameratasummerly naxos 8. Motive and spatialization in thomas tallis spem in alium kevin. What spem in alium does for me is to make me feel calm, reverent, transcendent, and happy. It sits at the heart of this performance, for the rightly lauded the cardinalls musick in its christ church birthplace.
Spem in alium nunquam habui praeter in te, deus israel qui irasceris et propitius eris et omnia peccata hominum in tribulatione dimittis domine deus creator caeli et terrae respice humilitatem. Spem in alium is probably one of the greatest musical compositions in human history. Fifty shades of grey sends sales of thomas talliss spem. Counterpoint, art of combining different melodic lines in a musical composition. I have found you cant go wrong with the tallis scholars to be a pretty reliable guide over the last 30 years. Tallis blended the chordal with the polyphonic here, to great effect. Four hundred years after its composition talliss spem in alium remains one of the most spectacular pieces of music we have.
Looking at the translation of spem in alium i am intrigued by its use in 50 shades of grey. Spem in alium tallis from cdgim006 hyperion records. Johnathackney in london, combined with other latin motets by tallis among them the lamentations of jeremiah. The resulting work of talliss is certainly his greatest legacy and one of the finest pieces of music by an english composer, indeed by any composer. Spem in alium nunquam habui a 40 tallis, thomas movementssections movtssecs. The opening title track of this cd, spem in alium, is a 40voice motet for eight fivevoice choirs. A partiture with all 40 voices pdf file having 40 textlabelled staples. It is a 40part motet, set up for eight fivepart choirs. Spem is a bit different a motet, unless i am mistaken. Hope in any other have i none or in no other is my hope motet short musical setting of a sacred text by english composer thomas tallis, noted for its complex use of counterpoint in a composition for 40 voices. It was written for eight choirs with five voices each. Tallis chose an uncommon sarum rite text from the book of judith. The epic 40 part motet by renowned tudor composer, thomas tallis, rewritten for two five part choirs and mezzosoprano, so almost any choir can now perform this legendary piece.
Spem in alium itself and sing and glorify, the less familiar englishtexted contrafactum. Watch the video for spem in alium from thomas talliss discover early music for free, and. Well, there is really nothing else quite like spem in alium. It is a 10minute panorama of shifting tone colours. Scored for forty independent voices, spem in alium, a work of talliss maturity, dwarfs any other english work of the period. The other thing is that it needs the choir arranged in a particular way. Theres nothing like it in the renaissance repertory except for an italian piece to which it was written in answer, as a response to a challenge. The version with alistair dixon and the chapelle du roi is part of a 10cd set with the complete works by thomas tallis brilliant classics 93612, recorded 1996 2004, 10 cds plus cdrom with texts of the vocal music and liner notes. Tallis also manages to combine the exchanges between choirs in four different. It is considered by some critics to be the greatest piece of english early music. Spem in alium sheet music download free in pdf or midi. Spem in alium nunquam habiti is one of tallis s bestknown works.
Collins described it in 1929 as talliss crowning achievement, along with. Spem in alium is a 40part renaissance motet by thomas tallis, composed in c. This motet ranks with the greatest musical compositions. Spem in alium thomas tallis tallis scholars youtube. Spem in alium licensed to youtube by wmg on behalf of plg uk classics. Janet cardiff the forty part motet a reworking of spem in alium, by thomas tallis 1556 2001 not on view when cardiff first heard a recording of thomas talliss ambitious sixteenthcentury choral composition spem in alium nunquam habui in no other is my hope in 1998, she envisioned the possibility of hearing each voice in isolation. An animated, graphical representation of thomas tallis. Spem in alium doesnt record well either, there is something about it that means to get the full effect, you need to listen live. You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. Symphonic in its proportions and conception, it is talliss greatest masterpiece. Thomas tallis, spem in allium motet for forty voiceshuelgas ensemble. The motet salve intemerata, written when tallis was a young man, is one of the longest single movements of the entire 16th century. Spem in alium is a forty part motet composed by englishman, thomas tallis c.
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