Spem in alium

Imagine the sound of heaven itself. A single voice calls out in the silence; then another, and another until the whole universe is revolving and resounding with sensuous, sacred song. Thomas Tallis’ extraordinary Spem in alium is a landmark of Renaissance music – a towering 40-voice motet that seems to create its own sense of time and space. Every performance is a special occasion, and that goes double when it involves The Tallis Scholars, the British choir that for more than 50 years has ranked among the world’s pre-eminent performers of early vocal music.

In this concert, Spem in alium is the centrepiece of a whole evening of choral masterworks: music that belongs to eternity yet somehow always feels new.

The Tallis Scholars were founded in 1973 by their director, Peter Phillips. Through their recordings and concert performances, they have established themselves as the leading exponents of Renaissance sacred music throughout the world. Peter Phillips has worked with the ensemble to create, through good tuning and blend, the purity and clarity of sound which he feels best serves the Renaissance repertoire, allowing every detail of the musical lines to be heard. It is the resulting beauty of sound for which The Tallis Scholars have become so widely renowned.