Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Salve Regina for 5 voices
2. Ave Maria Mater Dei for 4 voices
3. Gaude Virgo Mater Christi for 4 voices
4. Magnificat for 5 voices
5. A Robyn, Gentyl Robyn for 3 voices
6. Adew, Adew, My Hartis Lust for 3 voices
7. Adew, Corage, Adew for 3 voices
8. Woffully Arraid for 4 voices
9. Stabat Mater Dolorosa for 5 voices

Disc 2:

1. Westron Wynde, song
2. Mass 'The Western Wind', for 4 voices: Gloria
3. Mass 'The Western Wind', for 4 voices: Credo
4. Mass 'The Western Wind', for 4 voices: Sanctus & Benedictus
5. Mass 'The Western Wind', for 4 voices: Agnus Dei I, II, & III
6. Kyrie 'Leroy', for 4 voices
7. Missa 'Gloria Tibi Trinitas' for six voices: Gloria
8. Missa 'Gloria Tibi Trinitas' for six voices: Credo
9. Missa 'Gloria Tibi Trinitas' for six voices: Sanctus & Benedictus
10. Missa 'Gloria Tibi Trinitas' for six voices: Agnus Dei I, II & III
11. Dum transisset sabbatum (i), motet for 5 (another version exists for 4) voices

Disc 3:

1. If ye love me, anthem for 4 voices
2. Hear the voice and prayer, anthem for 4 voices
3. A new commandment, anthem for 4 voices
4. O Lord, give thy Holy Spirit, anthem for 4 voices
5. Purge Me, O Lord (also set as partsong: 'Fond youth is but a bubble'), anthem for 4 voices
6. Verily, verily I say unto you, anthem for 4 voices
7. Remember not, O Lord God (2 versions), anthem for 4 voices
8. Psalm Tunes (9) for Archbishop Parker's Psalter, for 4 voices
9. Out from the deep (doubtful, probably by W.Parsons), anthem
10. O Lord, in thee is all my trust, anthem for 4 voices
11. Blessed are those, anthem for 5 voices
12. Spem in Alium (also set as 'Sing and glorify'), motet for 40 voices, P. 299
13. Sancte Deus, motet (antiphon) for 4 voices, P. 98
14. Salvator mundi (I) (also set as 'Arise O Lord' and 'With all our hearts'), motet for 5 voices, P. 216
15. Salvator mundi (II) (also set as 'When Jesus went'), motet for 5 voices, P. 219
16. Gaude gloriosa Dei mater, motet (antiphon) for 6 voices, P. 123
17. Miserere nostri, motet for 7 voices, P. 207
18. Loquebantur variis linguis, motet for 7 voices, P. 272

Disc 4:

1. Mass for 5 Voices (SATTB): Kyrie
2. Mass for 5 Voices (SATTB): Gloria
3. Mass for 5 Voices (SATTB): Credo
4. Mass for 5 Voices (SATTB): Sanctus & Benedictus
5. Mass for 5 Voices (SATTB): Agnus Dei
6. Mass for 4 Voices (SATB): Kyrie
7. Mass for 4 Voices (SATB): Gloria
8. Mass for 4 Voices (SATB): Credo
9. Mass for 4 Voices (SATB): Sanctus & Benedictus
10. Mass for 4 Voices (SATB): Agnus Dei
11. Mass for 3 Voices (ATB): Kyrie
12. Mass for 3 Voices (ATB): Gloria
13. Mass for 3 Voices (ATB): Credo
14. Mass for 3 Voices (ATB): Sanctus & Benedictus
15. Mass for 3 Voices (ATB): Agnus Dei
16. Ave verum corpus (also anthem: 'O Lord, God of Israel'), motet for 4 voices (SATB)
17. Infelix ego, motet for 6 voices (SMez ATBarB)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #420354 in Music
• Released on: 1997-11-11
• Number of discs: 4

Amazon.com
Here's another fine Tallis Scholars box set at mid-price: four discs covering the music of their namesake composer, Thomas Tallis, with his predecessors and successors in Tudor England. The music ranges from the soaring, flamboyant virtuosity of Cornysh (early 1500s) through Taverner and Tallis himself to Byrd a century later. Each of the discs is reviewed more thoroughly on its own page (enter the composer's name and "Tallis Scholars" in the "Keyword Search" line); here it's enough to say that this is a collection of which anyone could be proud. --Matthew Westphal

Customer Reviews

Splendour in music
--Music--
This collection consists of four CDs, each having a key composer at the center: William Cornysh (d. 1523), John Taverner (d. 1545), Thomas Tallis (d. 1585), and William Byrd (d. 1623). For collectors of Tallis Scholars music, this will be repeat performances -- the music contained here come from prior releases, brought together as a set piece to show the relationship between these important composers. All of the composers worked for either royalty or other leading persons of the period; like much of the rest of Tudor sensibilities, there is an ornate, almost over-the-top quality to many of the compositions represented here. While much of the music is liturgical, there are a few pieces scattered about that are more folk-tune or secular in nature.

The Tudor period was one of fascinating history, and music certainly kept pace. One can almost envision the rivalry of Wolsey and Henry VIII in the compositions of Taverner (who worked for Wolsey) and Cornysh (who worked for Henry VIII, and prior to that, Henry VII). The development of the music over time, from Cornysh to Taverner to Tallis to Byrd can be heard, which makes perfect sense given the historical development of the personalities involved (Byrd was a successor to Tallis, who was a successor to Cornysh, in the same position in the Chapels Royal).

One of the difficulties of the increasingly florid, ornamented style of music is the lack of clarity of the language. Early polyphonic chant is fairly easy to understand; by the time of the Tudors, it is sometimes impossible to recognise the words being sung without the lyrics being provided in writing. The Reformation brought back a clarity and simplicity, which Tallis and Byrd adopted during the reign of Elizabeth to bring great effect to the combination of music and meaning. Byrd, of course, remained a Roman Catholic, and wrote his famous Masses at a time when they would not have been permitted to be performed in churches and official liturgical settings; as such, they possess a power of mystery and longing. They provide both an encapsulation and conclusion to the Tudor era of composition.

All of these pieces are glorious polyphonic compositions of extraordinary power and grace. Taken as a set, they make a wonderful snapshot of Roman Catholic/proto-Anglican music during the Tudor period. All subsequent liturgical music in the English church can trace its origin to this time; either in development from or in reaction to the standards developed during this time, this is a pivotal age for such music.

--The Tallis Scholars--
The Tallis Scholars are a group dedicated to the performance and preservation of the best of this type of music. A choral group of exceptional ability, I have been privileged to see them many times in public, and at almost every performance, their music is brilliant and the performance is delivered with near-flawless grace. Directed by Peter Phillips, the group consists of a small number of male and female singers who have trained themselves well to their task.

This is a truly wonderful collection.