Thomas Tallis - Lamentations of Jeremiah
The music in this third Gimell anthology dedicated to Tallis comes from both early and late in his career. Separated by perhaps forty years it is hard to believe they were all written by the same man. A selection of these recordings are also available on The Tallis Scholars sing Thomas Tallis, a specially-priced double album.
Listen on Apple Music. Search keywords: PHILLIPS TALLIS LAMENTATIONS
To buy the CD or Download, listen to samples and view the track-list, please click the link to Presto Music.
CDGIM 025
"This, the third volume of the survey by The Tallis Scholars of the music of the Tudor composer, Thomas Tallis, contains the well-known Lamentations, eight motets, and the extended motet Salve intemerata virgo. The Lamentations and motets are typical of the style of late Renaissance English composers. The overall mood is one of considerable austerity and their simplicity is indicative of the probability of their having been written for the private use of loyal Catholics rather than for formal ritual. Salve intemerata virgo, on the other hand, looks back to the glories of the late 15th century. In particular, Tallis's use of the phrygian mode gives the work as a whole a strong sense of the medieval. Despite this disparity of styles the Tallis Scholars acquit themselves, as always, with great distinction. In the Lamentations and motets they achieve an appropriate sense of intimacy, while in Salve intermerata virgo they rise fully to the challenges of one of the more extended and demanding examples of Tudor choral composition. In addition the formidable challenges which this latter work sets for the conductor, such as the sense of pace, variation of dynamics, and overall architecture of the work, are all extremely well handled by Peter Phillips. The recording is very fine." The Gramophone Classical CD Guide (2010)