Chapelle du Roi

“Two of the Biblical lessons for Maundy Thursday show Tallis at his most creative and imaginative.
'Incipit lamentatio…' the rising fourth, followed by a descending minor scale, imitated in turn by each of the other voices, sets the tone of sorrowful lamenting. Chapelle du Roi capture this mood with calm perfection. The flowing melodies of the introductory Hebrew letters, the clear articulation of the homophonic sections, each element is performed with understanding, due restraint, and never overdone.
The Latin motets that lie behind the English contrafacta have been recorded on Volume 7 of this series. It's remarkable how well the English texts, not necessarily translations or paraphrases, are made to fit the originals. Much interesting research lies behind the notes to Volumes 7 and 8: the identification of the original sources throws additional light on the religious and political struggles of Tallis's working life, and offers glimpses of domesticity. Dixon's choice between two possible groupings of five voices, the lower male-voice group and a higher one to include the ladies of the house, makes perfect sense.
Sing and glorify is a contrafactum of Tallis's monumental Spem in alium, intended for a joyful royal investiture a quarter of a century after his death.
The motet was recast in an entirely different mould: to wish long life to the young Prince of Wales was a far cry from a desperate appeal to God for mercy: even Dixon's faster tempo can't alter that, but what a fine performance his singers give of it.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“With their boyish-sounding sopranos and youthful male voices, Chapelle du Roi produces a light, fresh sound, with aptly restrained and understated expressive gestures. …there is something strangely affecting about hearing this highly sophisticated, reflective music performed by such natural, artless voices.” BBC Music Magazine, September 2004 ****

“Volume 7 of Chapelle du Roi's complete series of Tallis recordings, is a further witness to the composer's consummate command of his art, in whatever religious or political situation he found himself at each changing period of his life. It might seem puzzling that Elizabeth, in 1575, should sanction the publication of Tallis's and Byrd's Cantiones sacrae, but she apparently enjoyed hearing Latin-texted music in her private chapel, and many of the prayers would have been familiar from her childhood.
Dixon makes a number of interesting points.
He demonstrates Tallis's use of older material: for example, the Latin Absterge Domine, side by side with its later English contrafactum Discomfortthem, O Lord. He shows how five-voice scoring might be used for an all-male ensemble, or privately in, say, a recusant family situation, with ladies on the top line (In ieiunio et fletu). Tallis's craftsmanship is further revealed in his two through-composed psalms, Domine, quis habitabit and Laudate Dominum, which, while adhering to 16th-century principles of syllabic word-setting, are varied enough to relieve the inevitable tedium. We hear finally, Dixon's masterly interpretation of Spem in alium 'in the round' – or 'in horseshoe formation' – possibly the Chapelle's highest achievement to date.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010