Early and Renaissance choral music ensemble celebrates 50 glorious years

In 1973, Peter Phillips, then an undergraduate organ scholar in Oxford, founded a group dedicated to the performance of Renaissance polyphony.

Fifty years, and well over 2,300 performances later, Tallis Scholars (pictured above) are recognised as the premier modern interpreters of this music, while also developing fruitful relationships with the cream of today’s composers.

They are due to perform at The Apex, in Bury St Edmunds, later this month, and their programme celebrates those 50 years, honouring the composer and the style that have made the group’s name, while also reaching up to the present by including several modern figures who have been inspired by that distinctive sound.

Peter Phillips said: “Our 50th birthday season gives me an opportunity to programme some of the pieces which have meant most to us over the years. For this reason, I have chosen to do just one piece by my favourite composers – though there could have been many more.

“In the first half we start with the anthem which first excited my interest in renaissance polyphony, Gibbons’ ‘O Clap Your Hands’, an eight-voice tour de force.

“I was 14 when I first heard it in 1968 and have never looked back. Obviously, we needed to include a composition by Tallis, it didn’t matter very much which, but his seven-voice ‘Suscipe Quaeso’ is one of his greatest. Byrd’s ‘Tribue Domine’ is one of our most performed items, which we have sung over 130 times, the first time in 1991.

“The second half features music by Palestrina and Josquin, on whose sonorities we have largely founded our own sound and our international reputation. We have made a special feature of Gombert’s music over the years, having recorded all his ‘Magnificats’ in 1996.

“We have also made a special feature of Arvo Pärt’s music, having dedicated a disc to him in 2014. John Rutter needs little introduction, though his style is not always ours. This is a masterpiece.

“I could have included so many other pieces, but I think these make a satisfying sequence. I am heartened to think there is plenty more to explore in the years to come.”

Tallis Scholars perform at The Apex, on Monday, May 5, at 7.30pm. Visit the website www.theapex.co.uk or ring 01284 758000 for more information or to book tickets.

Programme:

Gibbons           O clap your hands

Tallis                Suscipe quaeso

Muhly              Rough Notes

Byrd                Tribue domine

Palestrina        Tu es Petrus

Rutter              Hymn to the Creator of Light

Gombert          Lugebat David

Josquin            Absalon fili mi

Pärt                 Which was the son of…