Experience the enchanting soundscape of The Tallis Scholars as they embark on a transcendent musical journey through centuries of chant music, from the medieval plainsong to the polyphonic wonders of the Renaissance. Under the direction of Peter Phillips, this illustrious ensemble returns for their 36th season at the Boston Early Music Festival, offering a sublime exploration of sacred music that resonates with the spirit of the Christmas season and beyond. Join us in celebrating the timeless beauty of this musical tradition, as it unfolds in concert halls across Massachusetts.

A Harmonious Journey Through Time: The Tallis Scholars' Celebration of Sacred Music

The Tallis Scholars, revered for their ethereal choral works, are set to enchant audiences with a series of performances exploring the sacred themes of mysteries and miracles. From the evocative notes of Gabrieli and Victoria’s Missa O magnum mysterium to the rediscovered Requiem by Palestrina, these concerts, spanning diverse venues from London to Berkeley, promise to be a testament to the timeless allure of chamber and orchestral music. Join us as we delve into the artists' contributions and the profound cultural impact of these musical narratives.

Exploring Mysteries and Miracles Through The Tallis Scholars' Lens

The Tallis Scholars, renowned for their sublime performances of Renaissance sacred music, are set to captivate audiences across the globe with an enchanting series of concerts. From the mysteries of Christ's birth to the miracles depicted in biblical stories, these events promise to offer a rich tapestry of sound and spirituality. As these world-class performers bring to life compositions by Gabrieli, Palestrina, and more, attendees will experience an unparalleled musical journey that celebrates the divine and the transcendental.

The Tallis Scholars: A Journey Through Mysteries and Miracles in Music

The exquisite singers of the Tallis Scholars visit with an Easter season program featuring works inspired by miraculous events in the biblical story of Jesus’ life.

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The Tallis Scholars

First Congregational Church of Berkeley

The programme begins with Gabrieli and Victoria’s Missa O magnum mysterium, which depicts Christ’s birth. Other pieces explore miracles, such as Egressus Jesus, recounting Christ exorcising a demon, and Weir’s Ave Regina Caelorum, which reflects on the mystery of the Virgin birth.

The Tallis Scholars: Mysteries & Miracles

Milton Court Concert Hall

Inspired by the Sistine Chapel: Music of Morales, Palestrina and Allegri.

Emmanuel Church Boston

Jubilate! Music of Lassus, Palestrina, Gombert, and Andrea Gabrieli

The Tallis Scholars & The English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble

New England Conservatory

For a thousand years, plainchant represented the heart of Western “classical” music. The legendary voices of The Tallis Scholars revisit this living tradition with a transcendent celebration for the Christmas season. Director Peter Phillips leads his beloved ensemble in their 36th consecutive season performing for BEMF audiences with a journey through centuries of chant music and the polyphony constructed from it, from boundary-pushing chants composed by 12th-century abbess Hildegard von Bingen, to Renaissance works including chant-based motets such as Nunc dimittus by Lassus and Salve regina by Obrecht, Victoria, and Franco, to the medieval In dulci jubilo melody set by Praetorius and Pearsall, and to Arvo Pärt’s reconceptualizing of the chant tradition, inspired in part by Eastern Orthodox practices.

St. Paul's Parish

Sacred-music chamber choir The Tallis Scholars explores a collection of stories tied to Easter, Lent, and natural disaster spanning six centuries. Renowned as “one of the UK’s greatest cultural exports” (BBC Radio 3), The Tallis Scholars will treat audiences to an evocative blend of sacred Renaissance music and contemporary works by Pulitzer Prize winner David Lang, Nico Muhly, Eric Whitacre, and more.

Carnegie Hall

Celebrating 50 years this season, the peerless Tallis Scholars return to Berkeley with a gorgeous holiday program that views the Christmas story from the perspective of the shepherds who came to worship at the manger. The concert revolves around Who did you see, Shepherds?, a mass by Flemish composer Clemens non Papa, its five movements dispersed between similar text settings by other masters from the late Renaissance. Also on the program is a magnificent double choir motet by Giovanni Croce, and two sublime settings of the Salve regina by Obrecht and Philips. Masters of Renaissance polyphony, the Tallis Scholars are at the height of their powers, having recently won both the BBC Music Magazine’s Recording of the Year Award and the Gramophone Early Music Award. “Tonal purity, articulation, ensemble spirit: everything here is sheer perfection…. Phillips’ unaccompanied voices bring passion and warmth to every note” (The Times, London).

Tallis Scholars

First Congregational Church

Celebrating their 50th anniversary this season, the peerless Tallis Scholars are at the very height of their powers, winning both the Recording of the Year and the Choral Award in BBC Music Magazine last year, and taking home the 2021 Gramophone Music Award in Early Music. These Berkeley favorites are master performers of sacred Renaissance choral music, and here lend their crystalline clarity and pinpoint precision to an exciting program of works that includes Tallis’ monumental Suscipe quaeso, Byrd’s masterful Tribue domine, and contemporary works by Nico Muhly and Arvo Pärt.

The Tallis Scholars, one of the world’s premier vocal ensembles, celebrates its 50th anniversary under the leadership of founding director Peter Phillips who formed the group from members of the Oxford and Cambridge chapel choirs. Resonating in the glory of the Cathedral Basilica, their program will feature Renaissance masterpieces of sacred music from England and Europe, including works by Tallis, Palestrina, Lassus, and Josquin des Prez, among others.

Saint Francis of Assisi

The Sistine Chapel is one of the world’s great sacred spaces and over the centuries, it has inspired and nourished a musical tradition without parallel in Western culture. The Tallis Scholars share its treasures tonight in a concert that embraces both Allegri’s transcendent Miserere and the first UK performance of a recently rediscovered Requiem by the great Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina.

Cadogan Hall 

Imagine the voice of heaven itself: music that belongs to eternity yet somehow always feels new. Thomas Tallis’ Spem in alium is a landmark of Renaissance music – a masterpiece that seems to create its own sense of time and space. For more than 50 years, The Tallis Scholars have been the world’s pre-eminent performers of Tallis’ music; this should be extraordinary.

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The Tallis Scholars: Mysteries & Miracles

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