Thomas Tallis Thomas Tallis
Thomas Tallis was the most famous English composer at the end of the 16th century. He
composed music for several monarchs, including composing and performing for Henry VIII, Edward VI (1547-1553), Queen Mary (1553-1558), and Queen Elizabeth I.
It was Elizabeth who made a special patent agreement with Tallis and his younger contemporary William Byrd to be the only ones who could print music in England. Both primarily wrote sacred music for the church but Byrd also wrote music for keyboard.
The most famous piece by Tallis is Spem in alium which is a sacred motet composed for eight five-voiced choirs (40 voices in all!). It is a piece which begs for stereo recording and sometimes when the piece is done, the choirs stand around the perimeter of the audience and the effect is quite magnificent. Tallis was obviously a witty man, because the last choir does not enter until measure 40. (How appropriate!)
Here is a sample from the fabulous recording by The Clerkes of Oxenford conducted by David Wulstan. I’m told by one of his close associates that his research into the 16th century revealed that boys reached the age of puberty much later than today, so their voices didn’t change until they were past the age of eighteen. This meant that the boy sopranos had much more powerful voices than they would today. Wulstan’s solution was to teach women to sing like boys.
The other thing he discovered is that there was a difference of a minor third between organ pitch and vocal pitch, meaning that if music of the Tudor period is to be sung correctly, it should be raised by a minor third. Since the score for Spem in alium is written in G minor, it should thence be sung in B-flat minor, which is the key of the Clerkes performance we have excerpted. Listen to the high notes and they sound like little bells.
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