The Lamentations of Jeremiah the Prophet are two 5-part settings of the Lamentations composed by Thomas Tallis. H. B. Collins described the Lamentations in 1929 as Tallis's "crowning achievement", along with his 40-part motet Spem in alium.[1]
The Lamentations make up two settings, I and II, in the newer Caroline set of the Peterhouse Partbooks.[2] I and II were likely intended to be sung separately but modern performers sometimes sing the two settings together, as the texts are succeeding verses of the Book of Lamentations.[3] Tallis' Lamentations are part of a larger oeuvre of Lamentations settings produced by other English Catholic sympathisers (White, Byrd), for private home worship.[4]
In the Victorian period, a revival in Tallis' music began and the Lamentations had a great appeal.[5] In modern times, they are some of the most famous works by Tallis and among the most performed musical settings of the Lamentations.[6] The first setting is a key piece of the Tallis Scholars repertoire.[7]
I and II are composed in two different modes and are generally in the new, highly-imitative Elizabethan style that had succeeded the older English votive style.[3] The counterpoint is more austere than that of continental composers.[8] However Commentators have remarked on how the Lamentations demonstrate Tallis' economy of means in composing less ornate polyphony in favour of textual clarity, word-painting and introspection.[9][10] A tonal shift at the second "Plorans ploravit" (in I) create pathos, while successive cross-relations at "virgines eius squalidae" (in II) express indignation.[3] At the final "convertere" verse in which Jeremiah prays for the restoration of Jerusalem, repetition of "Jerusalem" and frequent suspensions convey textual anguish.[11]
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