julesd68
08-03-2013, 00:00
Does God exist? That's the topic for today. And I dedicate it to my late father Anthony, theologian as he was, as I think he would find it amusing from his place in the clouds …
On the basis of tonight's performance at St Paul's Cathedral, I would say there's a distinct possibility.
We were celebrating the 40th anniversary of The Tallis Scholars with a peerless programme of music.
Here is the "set-list" -
Thomas Tallis - Loquebantur variis linguis
Thomas Tallis - Miserere
Arvo Pärt - Nunc Dimittis
Gabriel Jackson - Ave Dei patris filia (world premiere)
William Byrd – Tribue Domine
Interval
Gregorio Allegri - Miserere
Eric Whitacre - New Work (world premiere)
Robin Walker - I have thee by the hand, O Man (London premiere)
Thomas Tallis - Spem in alium
The chance to hear the greatest liturgical music, in a historic cathedral setting, sang by arguably the greatest exponents of the art, was a chance I could not pass up. As a young chorister at Windsor Castle I got the chance to sing Tallis, Byrd and Allegri on a fairly regular basis. So of course I was looking forward to hearing some of the Renaissance's "Greatest Hits". But if I'm honest, I was a little nervous about the inclusion of four contemporary works - I don't know or listen to any such music. I should not have feared and instead placed more trust in the hands of the eminent director, Peter Phillips. Each one was captivating in its own way, with special praise due to the Arvo Part, which makes me really want to seek out more of his work.
On to the main business of the night. Pop quiz - what are the two greatest liturgical choral works in the history of the world, ever? The answer is of course, "Miserere" and "Spem in Alium".
"Miserere" was written under the auspices of Pope Urban VIII to be performed in the Sistine Chapel. Such was the heavenly beauty of the music, that performing it elsewhere and even writing the music down, was punishable by excommunication! It is written for two choirs. You have one in the foreground with five voices, and there is another choir of four voices that is separated by some distance from the main choir and acts almost like an echo. We couldn't even see where this choir was tonight, which made the distant voices all the more special and ethereal.
"Spem in Alium" is remarkable in that it is a 40 part motet - 8 choirs of 5 voices each. It is Tallis's masterwork and extremely complex. Just imagine the intricacies of the exchanges and the floating harmonies of all these voices!
Be very sure of one thing - the technical mastery required to sing these works. The perfect pitching, purity of tone and breath control is simply staggering. Can you imagine these divine voices cascading round the Cathedral and rising up unto heaven itself? The effect of the decaying voices is compelling - I estimated the echo to be between 5-7 seconds. But to sing it as it deserves to be sung, requires more than just talent - it requires an empathy of the Renaissance era and the inherent spirituality of the music.
I cannot begin to put into words the power of this music or to describe it in any way to do it justice. You just have to listen to it. Suffice to say, that its aim, like all liturgical works, was to not just to exalt the Lord, but to also bring you closer to him - to raise the soul to new celestial heights. Now I'm not what I would call a Christian, but my soul was truly moved tonight. So does God exist? The jury's still out, but it is very difficult to think that such exquisite music could come from man alone.
On the basis of tonight's performance at St Paul's Cathedral, I would say there's a distinct possibility.
We were celebrating the 40th anniversary of The Tallis Scholars with a peerless programme of music.
Here is the "set-list" -
Thomas Tallis - Loquebantur variis linguis
Thomas Tallis - Miserere
Arvo Pärt - Nunc Dimittis
Gabriel Jackson - Ave Dei patris filia (world premiere)
William Byrd – Tribue Domine
Interval
Gregorio Allegri - Miserere
Eric Whitacre - New Work (world premiere)
Robin Walker - I have thee by the hand, O Man (London premiere)
Thomas Tallis - Spem in alium
The chance to hear the greatest liturgical music, in a historic cathedral setting, sang by arguably the greatest exponents of the art, was a chance I could not pass up. As a young chorister at Windsor Castle I got the chance to sing Tallis, Byrd and Allegri on a fairly regular basis. So of course I was looking forward to hearing some of the Renaissance's "Greatest Hits". But if I'm honest, I was a little nervous about the inclusion of four contemporary works - I don't know or listen to any such music. I should not have feared and instead placed more trust in the hands of the eminent director, Peter Phillips. Each one was captivating in its own way, with special praise due to the Arvo Part, which makes me really want to seek out more of his work.
On to the main business of the night. Pop quiz - what are the two greatest liturgical choral works in the history of the world, ever? The answer is of course, "Miserere" and "Spem in Alium".
"Miserere" was written under the auspices of Pope Urban VIII to be performed in the Sistine Chapel. Such was the heavenly beauty of the music, that performing it elsewhere and even writing the music down, was punishable by excommunication! It is written for two choirs. You have one in the foreground with five voices, and there is another choir of four voices that is separated by some distance from the main choir and acts almost like an echo. We couldn't even see where this choir was tonight, which made the distant voices all the more special and ethereal.
"Spem in Alium" is remarkable in that it is a 40 part motet - 8 choirs of 5 voices each. It is Tallis's masterwork and extremely complex. Just imagine the intricacies of the exchanges and the floating harmonies of all these voices!
Be very sure of one thing - the technical mastery required to sing these works. The perfect pitching, purity of tone and breath control is simply staggering. Can you imagine these divine voices cascading round the Cathedral and rising up unto heaven itself? The effect of the decaying voices is compelling - I estimated the echo to be between 5-7 seconds. But to sing it as it deserves to be sung, requires more than just talent - it requires an empathy of the Renaissance era and the inherent spirituality of the music.
I cannot begin to put into words the power of this music or to describe it in any way to do it justice. You just have to listen to it. Suffice to say, that its aim, like all liturgical works, was to not just to exalt the Lord, but to also bring you closer to him - to raise the soul to new celestial heights. Now I'm not what I would call a Christian, but my soul was truly moved tonight. So does God exist? The jury's still out, but it is very difficult to think that such exquisite music could come from man alone.