Tallis: Audivi vocem de caelo

More than half Tallis’ life was spent as a musician at the English Chapel Royal. During his time in royal service, four different monarchs sat on the throne, Henry VIII, Edward VI, Queen Mary I and Elizabeth I. The performers here have aimed for the intimate atmosphere of a chamber performance of the works generally with one voice to a part.

Heavenly Voices celebrates the tradition of music making at St. John’s College Cambridge. The varied repertoire featured on this Heritage disc not only showcases their versatility but confirms their reputation as one of the UK’s finest cathedral choirs.

The English ‘cathedral’ tradition is defined by the sound and musicianship of choristers: in New College’s case boys aged between 9 and 13. In the space of four years, these children become remarkably proficient musicians. Indeed, we might be forgiven for thinking of them solely as musicians, such is their achievement. But they are both children and musicians. And this recording celebrates their musical and vocal prowess in a ‘snapshot’ year. A mixture of solo and ensemble items surveys a wide repertory from Tallis to Jehan Alain. This recording has a fascinating documentary value, but is much more than that: it is an anthology of wonderful choral works whose musical presentation is given even greater depth by the very special qualities of boys’ voices.

New York Polyphony’s second release for Avie is a compelling fusion of Tudor masterpieces from Byrd, Tallis, Taverner and others and contemporary works by Oslo-based English composer Andrew Smith.

Classical vocal quartet New York Polyphony struck a chord with their 2007 Avie debut, ‘I Sing the Birth’ (AV2141). An intimate meditation on the Christmas season, it garnered unanimous praise on both sides of the pond. For Gramophone Magazine it was “one of the season's best”, and it was an Editor's Christmas Choice in BBC Music Magazine. For their second release, the all-male foursome delivers their signature fusion of historically informed performances in a range of styles. Interspersed between sacred masterpieces of Tudor England are four new works by British-Norwegian composer Andrew Smith, adding a modern harmonic richness and complexity to the album. The result is a compelling synthesis of ancient and contemporary vocal music. New York Polyphony extends the mix of old world and new in the album’s title, named for the distinctive 19th-century neighbourhood on Manhattan’s East Side which is pictured in the striking cover design.

Though he lived through some of the most tumultuous times in English history, from the reigns of Henry VII to Elizabeth I, Thomas Tallis (c. 1505–1585) composed music for both the Catholic and Anglican churches that resounds the world over to this day.

Whether singing the monumental splendour of his famous 40-part motet Spem in alium or the intimate prayer I call and cry to thee, O Lord, the internationally renowned Oxford Camerata conducted by Jeremy Summerly are perfectly attuned to Tallis’s timeless genius.

After the enormous success last year of their recording of Bach Motets (476 5776), the Hilliard Ensemble turn their attention to music of the English Renaissance and specifically, works by three 16th century composers, Tallis, Tye and Sheppard. While Christopher Tye might be branded one of the lesser-known figures of the English Renaissance, and John Sheppard perhaps the more esoteric, Thomas Tallis stands as the most important and accomplished musician of the Tudor period. All three, however, were masters of polyphony, associated with the Chapel Royal.

The music here is not a sampling of the (much-recorded) music for the new Prayer Book but a survey of the earliest examples of the impact of reform on musical composition, namely from the last decades of Henry VIII’s reign. The works of Tallis, Tye and Sheppard are alternated and contrasted throughout this beautifully constructed recital, recorded, like many of the Hilliard Ensemble’s CDs, in the splendid, crystal-clear acoustics of the Sankt Gerold monastery in the Austrian Alps. Tallis has long been an inspirational figure for the Hilliards, who had a huge success with their recording of his Lamentations of Jeremiah (833 3082) in 1986 - one of their first ECM New Series discs - and also brought his music into their collaboration with Jan Garbarek on Mnemosyne (465 1222).