The Tallis Scholars

The Tallis Scholars
The Tallis Scholars at the Brucknerfest 2025 in Linz (Austria)
Background information
Origin	United Kingdom
Genres	Classical music
Instrument	Vocal
Years active	1973–present
Labels	Gimell Records
Website	www.thetallisscholars.co.uk www.gimell.com

The Tallis Scholars is a British professional early music vocal ensemble established in 1973. Normally consisting of two singers per part, with a core group of ten singers, they specialise in performing a cappella sacred vocal music. Peter Phillips, the founder of the group, is its conductor. The group has released over 60 discs through its own label, Gimell Records and in 2013, they were elected to the Gramophone Hall of Fame. ^[1] In 2023, Gramophone marked the group's 50th anniversary by dedicating a special edition of its magazine to them. ^[2]

History

The ensemble is named after the English composer Thomas Tallis

The group was formed in 1973 by Peter Phillips, a music student of David Wulstan and Dennis Arnold, who in 1972–1975 was an organ scholar at St John's College, Oxford. Phillips invited the members of chapel choirs from Oxford and Cambridge to form an amateur Renaissance vocal music ensemble, which turned professional after ten years of concert-giving. From the first performance in the Church of St. Mary Magdalen, Oxford on November 3, 1973, Phillips aimed to produce a distinctive sound, influenced by choirs he admired, in particular the renowned Clerkes of Oxenford, directed by David Wulstan. ^{[3] [4]} Since winning a Gramophone Award in 1987, The Tallis Scholars has been recognised as one of the world's leading ensembles specializing in Renaissance polyphony. ^[5]

Concerts

The Tallis Scholars tour widely, performing some 70 concerts a year, in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia. In April 1994, they sang Allegri's Miserere mei, Deus in the Vatican's newly restored Sistine Chapel, ^[6] and in February 1994, they performed in Rome's Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the death of the composer Palestrina. ^[5]

In 1999, The Tallis Singers toured China, giving two concerts in Beijing. ^[7] In 1998, they marked their 25th anniversary with a performance in London's National Gallery. At the millennium, they performed in New York City with Paul McCartney. ^[8] For the 2013-2014 40th-anniversary concert series, the group announced a world tour to include the United States, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, starting the tour with a concert in St Paul's Cathedral in London for 2000 people. ^[9]

Recordings

Main article: Gimell Records

Since March 1980, The Tallis Scholars has recorded on their own label, Gimell Records, established by Peter Phillips and Steve Smith. ^[10] The label was named after the compositional technique gymel. In accordance with Phillips,

The word Gimell comes from the Latin word ‘gimellus’, meaning ‘a twin’, and it’s a technical term. It’s a corrupt form of the word gimellus that you find in manuscripts of the Tudor school where the part is twinned. You have to understand that in those days the music wasn’t written in score; it was written in parts so you’d only see your part. If you were singing your part and you saw the word ‘gimell’ it had to be decided in rehearsal that some of you singing that part would have to look elsewhere on the page, or even pick up another book and find your part. So it was a signpost. ^[11]

Soon, there was a critical consensus that, "the Tallis Scholar's recordings are of reliably high quality". ^[12] Between 1981 and 2006, the group recorded 40 critically acclaimed discs. ^[5] The recordings covered a repertoire from over 150 years of music history (approximately the years 1450–1600), with some excursions into later repertoire. In 2010, Gimell released its 50th recording, de Victoria's Lamentations of Jeremiah. ^[13] Other notable releases included Gramophone magazine's Record of the Year Award winning disc of Josquin's Missa Pange lingua and Missa La sol fa re mi . ^[5] In 2011, the ensemble's recording of Allegri's Miserere mei, Deus in Merton College, Oxford in 1980 was named by BBC Music Magazine as one of the "50 Greatest Recordings of All Time". ^[14] In 2013, the recording of John Taverner's Missa Gloria tibi Trinitas became the number one in the UK Specialist Classical Chart. ^[15]

Members

According to Phillips, during the 1982-1983 concert season, The Tallis Singers formed a core that was more or less consistent for the next 25 years. Some singers left the group to develop successful solo careers, including Michael Chance, Mark Padmore, James Gilchrist, John Mark Ainsley, Tessa Bonner, and Jeremy White, who became a principal bass at The Royal Opera, Covent Garden. ^[16]

Accomplishments

The Tallis Scholars ensemble contributed to a greater recognition of the choral works of Tallis, Palestrina, Byrd, Tye, and de Victoria, and other European Renaissance sacred and secular composers, while performing over 1800 concerts around the world and releasing 50 discs. ^[17] The singers have paved the way for many younger groups such as The Sixteen, The Clerks, The Cardinall's Musick, The Binchois Consort, Trinity Baroque, the Gabrieli Consort, and Octarium. ^[18] Founded in 1999, the Boston-based early-music a cappella ensemble Blue Heron is viewed by some critics as an example of The Tallis Scholars' influence on the American early-music scene. ^[19]

In 2000, the group established The Tallis Scholars Summer Schools, a program providing amateur singers and promising young professionals the opportunity to be coached by Phillips and other members of the ensemble in their specialist repertoire. The program now includes three courses which take place in Oakham in the United Kingdom, Seattle in the United States, and Sydney in Australia.^{[ citation needed ]}

Various members of the group have scholarly interests in addition to their activities as professional musicians. Phillips has published a scholarly text English Sacred Music 1549–1649. ^[20] Sally Dunkley, Francis Steele, and Deborah Roberts have all worked as music editors and publishers with interests spanning the Renaissance and early Baroque music. Andrew Gant is also organist at the Chapel Royal.^{[ citation needed ]}

The Tallis Scholars has performed and recorded Russian Orthodox repertoire, including music by Sergei Rachmaninoff and Igor Stravinsky, and contemporary works by Norbert Moret, Ivan Moody, Arvo Pärt, John Tavener and Eric Whitacre.^{[ citation needed ]}

Accolades and awards

In 2013, The New York Times described The Tallis Scholars as a "superb a cappella ensemble founded and conducted by Peter Phillips". ^[21] During their 40 years of concert performances, the group has received many accolades and awards.

In 1987, the Gramophone magazine awarded The Tallis Scholars its Record of the Year, and in 1989 the French magazine Diapason added its Diapason d'Or de l'Année award. In 1991 and 2004, the Gramophone magazine gave The Tallis Scholars its Early Music Award. In 2012, the singers again received the Diapason d'Or de l'Année award, and in 2013 they were elected by a popular vote to the Gramophone's Hall of Fame.

Discography

Year	Composer/s	Title / Works	Detail
1980	Allegri / Palestrina / Mundy	Miserere / Missa Papae Marcelli / Vox parts caeliestis	#1 HMV Classical Chart, February 1981
1981	Palestrina	Missa Benedicta es/ Motet
1982	Tavener, Rachmaninov, Stravinsky, Bortniansky and anon	Russian Orthodox Music
	Gibbons, Byrd, Weelkes, Morley, Tomkins, etc.	English Madrigals
1983	Palestrina, Lhéritier, Victoria and de Silva	Missa Nigra sum / Motets
1984	John Taverner	Missa Gloria tibi Trinitas/ Leroy Kyrie/ Dum transisset I
	Tavener	Ikon of Light/ Funeral Ikos/ The Lamb
1985	Tallis	Spem in alium and other Latin-texted works
	Byrd	The Three Masses
1986		Christmas Carols and Motets
	Palestrina	Missa Brevis/ Missa Nasce la gioja mia
	Tallis	The Complete English Anthems
	Josquin	Missa Pange Lingua/ Missa La sol fa re mi	Gramophone Magazine Record of the Year, 1987
1987	Gesualdo	Tenebrae responsories for Holy Saturday/ Four Marian Motets
	Clemens	Missa Pastores quidnam vidistis/ Motets
	Victoria / Lobo	Requiem/ Versa Est in Luctum
	Byrd	The Great Service/ Anthems
1988		Sarum Chant: Missa in Gallicantu
	Cornysh	Stabat Mater, Magnificat, Salve regina and other motets and secular songs
1989	Sheppard	Media Vita
	Josquin	L'homme armé Masses	Diapason d'Or de l'Année, 1989
	Lassus	Missa Osculetur me/ Motets
	Palestrina	Missa Assumpta est Maria/ Missa Sicut lilum	Gramophone magazine Early Music Award, 1991
1990		Music featured on the South Bank Show	1-disc reissue to accompany the programme
	Cardoso	Requiem/ Magnificat/ Motets
	Victoria	Tenebrae Responsories
1991	Isaac	Missa de Apostolis/ Motets
	Tomkins	The Great Service/ Anthems
1992	Brumel	Missa Et ecce terrae motus (The Earthquake Mass)/ Lamentations/ Magnificat
	Duarte Lobo	Requiem/ Missa Vox clamantis
	Tallis	Lamentations of Jeremiah/ Motets and Antiphons
1993	Byrd	William Byrd	2-disc reissue to commemorate the 450th anniversary of the composer's birth
	Taverner, Tye and Sheppard	The Western Wind Masses
1994	Palestrina	The Palestrina 400 Collection	4-disc reissue to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the composer's death
	de Rore	Missa Praeter rerum seriem/ Motets	Gramophone Early Music Award, 1994 Gramophone/Classic FM People's Choice Award, 1994 Zlatá Harmonie Award, Brno, 1995
	Allegri, Palestrina	Live in Rome: Allegri and Palestrina	Winner, Cannes Classical Awards at MIDEM, 1995
1995	Taverner	John Taverner	1-disc reissue to commemorate the 450th anniversary of the composer's death
	White	Lamentations/ Magnificat/ Motets
1996	Obrecht	Missa Maria Zart
1997		A Tudor Collection	2-disc reissue
	Ockeghem	Missa Au travail suis/ Missa De plus en plus and their chansons
	A. Lobo	Missa Maria Magdalene/ Motets
		The Yearning Spirit: Voices of Contemplation	1-disc reissue
1998	Ferrabosco, Tallis, White, Brumel, Palestrina	Lamenta: Lamentations
		Tallis Scholars 25th Anniversary	2-disc reissue
	Josquin, Obrecht, Taverner, Byrd, Tallis, Mundy	Tallis Scholars Live in Oxford
	Tallis	Missa Puer natus (The Christmas Mass)/ Magnificat/ Motets
1999		The Best of the Renaissance	2-disc reissue
2000	Morales	Missa Si bona suscipimus/ Motet	Nominated for a Grammy, 2002
2001	Allegri	Miserere	Reissue of the 1980 release
	Tavener	Ikon of Light/ Funeral Ikos/ The Lamb	Reissue of the 1984 release
	Gombert	Magnificats 1-4/ chant antiphons
2002	Gombert	Magnificats 5-8/ chant antiphons
	Tallis	The Complete English Anthems	Reissue of the 1986 release
	Tallis	Lamentations of Jeremiah	Reissue of the 1992 release
2003		Christmas with the Tallis Scholars	2-disc reissue
		The Essential Tallis Scholars	2-disc reissue
2004	Palestrina	The Tallis Scholars sing Palestrina	2-disc reissue
	Tallis	The Tallis Scholars sing Thomas Tallis	2-disc reissue
2005	Allegri	Miserere	25th Anniversary Edition of the 1980 release
	Browne	Music from the Eton Choirbook	Gramophone Early Music Award, 2005
	Palestrina	Tallis Scholars sing Palestrina	2-disc reissue
	Victoria/ D. Lobo/ Cardoso	Requiem	2-disc reissue
2006	Guerrero	Missa Surge Propera/ Motets
	Palestrina	Missa Benedicta es	25th Anniversary Edition of the 1981 release
	Byrd	Playing Elizabeth's Tune: Byrd's Mass for Four Voices/ Motets
		Renaissance Giants	2-disc reissue
	Josquin	The Tallis Scholars sing Josquin	2-disc reissue
2007	Allegri / Palestrina	Miserere / Missa Papae Marcelli and Motets	New recordings
		English Madrigals	25th Anniversary Edition of the 1982 release
	Byrd	The Tallis Scholars sing William Byrd	2-disc reissue
2008	Josquin	Missa Sine nomine/ Missa Ad fugam
		The Tallis Scholars sing Tudor Church Music - Volume One	2-disc reissue
		The Tallis Scholars sing Tudor Church Music - Volume Two	2-disc reissue
2009		Flemish Masters	2-disc reissue
	Josquin	Missa Malheur me bat/ Missa Fortuna desperata	Diapason d'Or, 2010 Nominated for a Grammy, 2009
2010		Sacred Music in the Renaissance, Vol. 1	4-disc reissue to celebrate Gimell's 30th anniversary
		Sacred Music in the Renaissance, Vol. 2	4-disc reissue to celebrate Gimell's 30th anniversary
		Sacred Music in the Renaissance, Vol. 3	4-disc reissue to celebrate Gimell's 30th anniversary
	Victoria	Lamentations of Jeremiah	Nominated for a Grammy, 2010
2011	Josquin	Missa De beata virgine and Missa Ave maris stella	Diapason d'Or de l'Année, 2012
		The Victoria Collection	3-disc reissue to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the composer's death
2012	Mouton	Missa Dictes moy toutes voz pensées/ Motets
2013	Allegri / Palestrina	Miserere / Missa Papae Marcelli	Pure Audio Blu-ray release of the 2007 disc
	Whitacre	Sainte-Chapelle	Single track download, not available on CD
	Taverner	Missa Gloria tibi Trinitas/ Magnificats	Winner, 51st Japan Record Academy Early Music Award, 2013 #1 for several weeks, UK Specialist Classical Chart, 2013
		Renaissance Radio	2-disc reissue of selected tracks
2014	Tavener	Ikon of Light/ Funeral Ikos/ The Lamb	Reissue of the 1984 release to commemorate the death of the composer
2015	Arvo Pärt	Tintinnabuli	MusicWeb International Recording of the Year
		Perfect Polyphony	2-disc reissue of selected tracks
	John Taverner	Missa Corona spinea/ Dum transisset Sabbatum I and II
2016	Josquin	Missa Di dadi/ Missa Une mousse de Biscaye
	Josquin	Missa Gaudeamus/ Missa L'ami Baudichon
2019	Josquin / Bauldeweyn / Brumel	Missa Mater Patris/ Missa Da pacem/ Mater Patris
2021	Josquin	Missa Hercules Dux Ferrarie - Missa D'ung aultre amer - Missa Faysant regretz
2023	Sheppard	Missa Cantate
2024	Fayrfax	Robert Fayrfax	[22]

References

1. "Gramophone Hall of Fame". gramophone.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-06-21.
2. "Golden Renaissance". Gramophone. London, UK: MA Music. November 2023. pp. 1–30.
3. Phillips, Peter. What We Really Do: The Tallis Scholars. London: Musical Times, 2003, p.143.
4. Milsom, John. A Tallis Scholars' retrospective. Early Music, Volume 32, Number 3, August 2004, p. 466-468.
5. Libbey, Theodore. NPR Listener's Encyclopedia of Classical Music . New York: Workman Pub, 2006.
6. "40 years of The Tallis Scholars". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-06-21.
7. "Tallis Scholars". journalofmusic.com. Retrieved 2024-06-21.
8. Brian Wise (2000-05-05). "McCartney, Tallis Scholars Fete John Tavener In Concert". mtv.com. Archived from the original on June 24, 2024. Retrieved 2024-06-21.
9. Charlotte Smith (2012-11-28). "The Tallis Scholars celebrate 40th anniversary in St Paul's Cathedral". gramophone.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-06-21.
10. Wilson, Nick. Art of Re-Enchantment:Making Early Music in the Modern Age . New York: Oxford University Press, 2013.
11. "The Tallis Scholars' and Gimell Records' 30th Anniversary: Peter Phillips and Steve Smith in conversation with John Quinn (JQ)". Musicweb-international.com. 1980-03-23. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
12. Sherman, Bernard D. Inside Early Music: Conversations with Performers. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997, p. 131.
13. "Gimell Records - News". Gimell.com. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
14. "Gimell Records - 50 Greatest Recordings of All Time". Gimell.com. 2011-12-20. Archived from the original on 2013-12-12. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
15. "Gimell Records - 40th Anniversary release goes straight to number one". Gimell.com. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
16. The Tallis Scholars’ and Gimell Records’ 30th Anniversary: Peter Phillips and Steve Smith in conversation with John Quinn. MusicWeb International's Worldwide Concert and Opera Reviews. Accessed 9 December 2013.
17. "Gimell Records - The Tallis Scholars on DVD, CD and Download". Gimell.com. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
18. Knighton, Tess, and David Fallows. Companion to Medieval and Renaissance Music. New York: Schirmer Books, 1992, p. 34.
19. Keogh, Tom. It’s choral early-music season in Seattle. The Seattle Times , December 9, 2013.
20. Phillips, Peter. English Sacred Music, 1549-1649. Oxford: Gimell, 1991.
21. Shweitzer, Vivien. Exploring Spirituality, and Ending on a Prayer: Tallis Scholars Feature Taverner Works at White Light Concert. The New York Times , November 18, 2013.
22. Geoff Brown (2024-11-19). "This week's best releases". thetimes.com. Retrieved 2024-11-26.

External links

• Bibliography by EBSCO