Is it just me, or does Thomas Tallis look a little like Johnny Depp?
Thomas Tallis (c.1505-1585)
Musical period: Late Renaissance
Style: Sacred, Choral
Fun Facts: Like Christopher Tye, Thomas Tallis lived during the Tudor period of England when the church flip-flopped between catholicism and protestantism. Tallis composed for both liturgies, even though he was a catholic himself. His music moved away from the florid style and employed polyphony as well as chordal texture. He composed in Latin and English, and wrote a few pieces for keyboard as well.
For your listening pleasure: As an example of his music written for the catholic service, here is his amazing 40 part motet Spem In Alium. The public domain score can be found here (and you really should take a look at it – it’s incredible to see that many voices stacked on top of each other): http://www.cpdl.org/wiki/images/5/55/Tallis_Spem_in_alium_full_score_PML.pdf
Here’s a video of The King’s Singers performing Spem In Alium. There are only 6 members in the group, but they are able to sing all 40 parts thanks to modern technology.
English translation:
I have never put my hope in any other but in You, O God of Israel who can show both anger and graciousness, and who absolves all the sins of suffering man Lord God,Creator of Heaven and Earth be mindful of our lowlinessHere’s an English anthem for a protestant service:
