Making Hits From 1500 Sound Fresh Again

29 March 2010
New York Times
Vivien Schweitzer

The Tallis Scholars have long been stars in the world of early music. The group's performance on Friday evening at St. Bartholomew's Church on Park Avenue, conducted by Peter Phillips, showcased this choir at its luminous best. The program of Renaissance sacred polyphonic music focused on composers from what is now western Belgium and northern France, whose skills were much in demand throughout Europe. These composers were linked not just geographically but musically. The tenor line from Loyset Compère's three-voice chanson "Dictes moy toutes voz pensées," which opened the vocal part of the program, was used by Jean Mouton to structure his "Missa Dictes moy toutes voz pensées," which came next.

It's hard to imagine any deity resisting a plea sung as gorgeously as the Tallis Scholars' rendition of the Kyrie, their voices swelling with soulful precision in the church's resonant acoustics. Throughout the evening their singing was distinguished both by its buoyancy and impressive blend and, on occasion, the distinctiveness (at least from my seat at the front of the church) of individual voices. The low notes of Robert Macdonald, a bass, resonated powerfully through the church on the final notes of a phrase, like the "Amen" in Mouton's "Ave Maria" setting, which was featured in the second half of the concert.

This was preceded by Josquin Desprez's setting of "Ave Maria," which, like Mouton's, was composed around 1500. Josquin's four-part motet was considered advanced for the time, with its vivid relationship between music and text. Mouton's lesser-known setting is notable for its contrapuntal complexity.

The lineup also included a Magnificat by Nicholas Gombert, beautifully rendered with subtle shadings. The program concluded with Josquin's powerful, dark-hued "Praeter rerum seriem," which inspired several parody works, including a Magnificat setting by Lassus.

See the full review in The York Times.