Chamber Music Maryland: The Tallis Scholars
$45 ($10 student; youth free)
Hieronymus Praetorius — In dulci jubilo (vv. 2 & 4)
Hildegard von Bingen — In principio omnes
Jacob Obrecht — Salve regina misericordiæ
Hildegard von Bingen — O Virtus Sapientiae ("O Strength of Wisdom")
Orlando di Lasso (Orlande de Lassus) — Nunc dimittis primi toni, LV Anh. 111 "Il magnanimo Pietro"
Arvo Pärt — Magnificat
Hildegard von Bingen — Salve regina
Arvo Pärt — Da pacem Domine (Give peace Lord")
Hildegard von Bingen — Salve regina
Robert Pearsall — In dulci jubilo
The Tallis Scholars, hailed as "the rock stars of Renaissance vocal music" (The New York Times) and founded by Peter Phillips in 1973, bring a traditional Christmas celebration to Chamber Music Maryland. Their performance will showcase three distinct styles: the interpretation of Gregorian Chants by the 12th-century abbess Hildegard of Bingen (these are her own compositions); the living Gregorian tradition as shown in settings of the Salve Regina, Ut queant laxis, Magnificat, and Nunc dimittis; and as adapted in the medieval popular song In dulci jubilo, and Arvo Pärt's reimagining of this tradition, partly in the Orthodox view. In particular, there is Pärt's Da pacem, where the alto voice quotes a whole chant melody, running from start to finish of the piece. For a thousand years, chant represented all there was of 'classical' music. And it remains second to none in evoking the atmosphere of the great feast days.
About The Tallis Scholars
Over five decades of performance and a catalogue of award-winning recordings for Gimell, Peter Phillips and The Tallis Scholars have done more than any other group to establish sacred vocal music of the Renaissance as one of the great repertoires of Western classical music.
They have sought to bring Renaissance works to a wider audience in churches, cathedrals and venues on every continent on the planet except Antarctica! These include the Royal Albert Hall, the Sistine Chapel, the Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall New York, the Philharmonic Hall Berlin, Saint Mark's Venice, Seoul Arts Centre Korea, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre London, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Wigmore Hall, Beijing Concert Hall, Megaron Athens, and the Sydney Opera House.
The Tallis Scholars continue to develop their exclusive sound, praised by reviewers for its supple clarity and tone, and to bring fresh interpretations to music by contemporary as well as past composers, such as Pärt, Tavener, Whitacre, Muhly, and Jackson.