Spem in alium

Tallis Scholars: Spem in alium

~ Andrew Benson-Wilson

“Spem in alium”
The Tallis Scholars, Peter Phillips
Cadogan Hall, 20 June 2023

Sheppard: Media vita
White: Regina caeli; Domine quis habitabit III
Byrd: Ad Dominum cum tribularer
Taverner: Magnificat a 6
Tallis: Spem in alium

The last time I reviewed The Tallis Scholars at the Cadogan Hall was in June 2022 when they presented a programme with the title of Spem in alium. They have now returned to Cadogan Hall for a two-night sell-out concert with the title of … er … Spem in alium! In contrast to last year’s all-Tallis programme, this time said Spem in alium concluded a concert of large-scale English vocal pieces from Tallis’s time by Sheppard, White, Tavener and Byrd, whose 400th anniversary is this year.

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Tallis Scholars sing Tallis

~ Andrew Benson-Wilson

Spem in alium
The Tallis Scholars, Peter Phillips
Cadogan Hall, 9 June 2022

Although I have listened to and reviewed The Tallis Scholars many times over the years, I don’t think I have ever heard them sing a complete programme of Tallis. That omission was overcome with their all-Tallis concert in Cadogan Hall. It ended, perhaps inevitably, with the famous 40-part motet Spem in alium. The rest of the concert drew on a core group of 14 singers in various formations demonstrating the breadth of Tallis choral works.

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