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Home , John Taverner, Missa Pange lingua, The Tallis Scholars, Thomas Tallis

Thursday, April 19, 2018, 8pm The Cathedral of Christ the Light, Oakland

Director Peter Phillips

Soprano Alto Tenor Bass Amy Haworth Steven Harrold Tim Scott Whiteley Emma Walshe Alex Chance Simon Wall Rob Macdonald Emily Atkinson Charlotte Ashley

PROGRAM

Anonymous, 15th century L’homme armé

Josquin des Prez (c. 1450/1455–1521) from the Missa L’homme armé Francisco Guerrero (1528–1599) Gloria from the Missa Batalla Arvo Pärt (b. 1935) The Woman with the Alabaster Box (c. 1459–1522) Quis dabit oculis (1555–1617) Versa est

Guerrero from the Missa Batalla INTERMISSION Tomás Luis de Victoria (c. 1548–1611) Requiem aeternam from the Missa pro Defunctis Guerrero from the Missa L’homme armé (1944 –2013) Song for Athene

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c. 1525 –1594) Agnus dei from the Missa Papae Marcelli Victoria Libera me from the Missa pro Defunctis

Cal Performances presentations in Oakland are generously underwritten by Signature Development Group. Cal Performances’ 2017 –18 season is sponsored by Wells Fargo.

 PROGRAM NOTES

The armed man is to be feared. During the , musicians often In the Europe of the 15th century, when the survived by deftly navigating the courts of the anonymous French song “L’homme armé” first noble and wealthy and securing their favor. became popular, war was an omnipresent In return, there was an expectation that this threat. Many watched aghast as the old order beneficence be recognized in the output of the seemed to crumble before their eyes. In 1453 artists in their employ. Funeral were one the Ottoman Empire had sacked Constanti - opportunity for composers to display their nople, putting an end to the thousand-year-old gratitude (and help ensure their continued favor Byzantine empire. Later that same year, the with the next generation). The first is a work Hundred Years War between and by Jean Mouton, written to mark the passing of France culminated in a bloody battle at Cas - his patron Queen Anne of Brittany, the wife of tillon. The song obviously resonated with a Louis XII. “Quis dabit oculis” is appropriately people preoccupied with war: the armed man sombre in character, though not without mo - was indeed to be feared. ments of powerful rhetoric, as when the name Composers of the early Renaissance, of whom of Anna causes the voices to pause, as if from was the most renowned, deep sadness. frequently turned to secular songs as models for In a similar vein, Alonso Lobo’s beautiful sacred compositions. Tapping into contempo - “Versa est in luctum” was written for the rary popular songs allowed them not only to funeral of the Spanish King Philip II in 1602. pepper their music with familiar motifs, but to The expressive imagery—“my heart is tuned to allude to the content of those songs, creating mourning”—finds a parallel in Lobo’s musical multiple layers of meaning. Josquin composed language, in which the descending lines of the two masses on the “L’homme armé” theme. The six voices evoke inconsolable grief. later of the two, in the sixth mode or sexti toni , The first half ends with the Credo from is a polyphonic tour de force, incorporating sev - Guerrero’s mass. It radiates hope in salvation eral complex canonic and imitative techniques. through the resurrection, a character most Francisco Guerrero, born some years after evident in the awed full texture of “Et incarna - Josquin’s death, also based mass settings on tus est”—the mystery of the incarnation, words existing works. His Missa de la batalla escoutez whose utterance would have been accompanied derives material from a song by Janequin, an by a genuflection. extended piece that depicts the sounds of battle In 1603 the Dowager Empress Maria, sister in an unusually dramatic way. Guerrero’s mass of Philip II, died. It was the duty of her chaplain tempers the exuberance of his source, using and choirmaster, Victoria, to provide music passages from the beginning of the song as for her funeral rites. In doing so, he was writ - his main material—though the rapid declama - ing for the 12 singing priests and four boys tion of the original can be detected in the “Qui who comprised the singers of the Royal Con - tollis” section of the Gloria. vent, a relatively lavish set-up that enabled poly - Though written many centuries later, the phony in many parts. Accordingly, the Missa work of contemporary Estonian composer pro Defunctis , the Mass of the Dead or simply Arvo Pärt owes much to the Renaissance man - Requiem, is in six parts, with divided trebles ner of musical expression. A number of his and tenors. After the intonation Requiem aeter - works set passages from the Gospels, in a nar - nam , given in the treble part, the rative manner that eschews overt text expres - unfolds slowly and majestically around the sion in favor of lending the words a sort of ancient plainchant melody. The plainchant acts gilded clarity. “The Woman with the Alabaster as an anchor, a throughline that gives the piece Box” is an almost trance-like recitation, beau - as a whole an awesome solidity. tiful in its restraint, condensing the texture It is followed by a movement from one of for Jesus’ words before expanding it again for Guerrero’s takes on the L’homme armé mass. the climax. Unusually, it is scored for four higher voices, the

B PLAYBILL PROGRAM NOTES tessitura giving it an intriguingly weightless feel, The Council of Trent, a gathering of the and one that suits the character of the Sanctus, Catholic world that took place in the middle of which evokes the song of the angels. In the live - the 16th century, was convened to discuss re - lier Hosanna, the triple-time meter of the orig - sponses to the movement of Protestant reform inal tune is used, with the alto and tenor parts sweeping across the continent. Many delegates singing it in imitative canon. felt that secular music was an inappropriate John Tavener’s “Song for Athene,” written model, and that words had become unintelligi - after the unexpected death of a family friend, ble. Legend has it that the Missa Papae Marcelli Athene Hariades, became embedded in the pub - was written to prove that polyphony could ful - li c consciousness after it was performed at the fil these requirements. The Agnus Dei is classic funeral of Princess Diana in 1997. The sincerity Palestrina, a seamless and smooth polyphony. and impact of the words, fashioned from a Finally, we return to Victoria’s music for the fusion of Orthodox ritual and Shakespeare, Requiem Mass, and its closing cry of “Libera together with its radiantly optimistic, alleluiatic me.” The ancient words—angry, fearful, finally conclusion, struck an instant chord with a hopeful—remain deeply relevant in a world grieving public. that has yet to eradicate the threat of armed conflict. —© James M. Potter, 2018

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

The Tallis Scholars were founded in 1973 of the group’s first concert in 1973 and enjoyed by their director, Peter Phillips. Through their six weeks at number one on the UK Specialist recordings and concert performances, they Classical Album Chart. On September 21, 2015, have established themselves as the leading ex - the Tallis Scholars gave their 2,000th concert, at ponents of Renaissance sacred music through - St John’s Smith Square in London. out the world. Peter Phillips has worked with Highlights in the 2017 –18 season include the ensemble to create, through good tuning performances at the White Light Festival at and blend, the purity and clarity of sound Lincoln Center in New York; Amsterdam’s he feels best serve the Renaissance repertoire, Musik gebouw; the Klara Festival in Brussels; allowing every detail of the musical lines to the Brugge Concertgebouw; and tours through - be heard. It is the resulting beauty of sound out the , Europe, and the UK. for which the Tallis Scholars have become so Recordings by the Tallis Scholars have widely renowned. earned many awards throughout the world. In The Tallis Scholars perform in both sacred 1987 their recording of Josquin’s Missa La sol fa and secular venues, usually giving around 70 re mi and Missa Pange lingua received Gramo - concerts each year across the globe. In 2013 the phone magazine’s Record of the Year award, the group celebrated its 40th anniversary with a first recording of ever to win this world tour, performing 99 events in 80 venues coveted honor. In 1989 the French magazine in 16 countries and travelling sufficient air- Diapason gave two of its Diapason d’Or de miles to circumnavigate the globe four times. l’Année awards for the recordings of a mass and The group kicked off the year with a spectac - motets by Lassus and for Josquin’s two masses ular concert in St Paul’s Cathedral, London, based on the chanson “L’homme armé.” Their including a performance of ’ recording of Palestrina’s Missa Assumpta est 40-part motet and the world pre - Maria and Missa Sicut lilium was awarded mieres of works written specially for the en - Gram o phone ’s Early Music Award in 1991; they semble by Gabriel Jackson and Eric Whit acre. received the 1994 Early Music Award for their A recording of ’s Missa Gloria tibi recording of music by ; and Trinitas was released on the exact anniversary the same distinction again in 2005 for their disc

 ABOUT THE ARTISTS

of music by John Browne. The Tallis Scholars master classes and choral workshops every year were nominated for Grammy Awards in 2001, around the world—among other places, in 2009, and 2010. In November 2012 their re - Rimini (Italy), Evora (Portugal), and Avila cording of Josquin’s Missa De beata virgine and (Spain). In 2014 he launched the London Missa Ave maris stella received a Diapason d’Or Inter national A Cappella Competition in de l’Année, and in their 40th anniversary year St John’s Smith Square, attracting from they were welcomed into the Gramophone Hall all over the world, which successfully com - of Fame by public vote. In a departure for the pleted its third run in June 2017. group, in spring 2015, the Tallis Scholars re - In addition to conducting, Phillips is well- leased a disc of music by Arvo Pärt called Tin - known as a writer. For 33 years he contributed tin nabuli that has received great praise. The a regular music column (as well as one, more latest recording, of Josquin masses Missa Di briefly, on cricket) to The Spectator , recently dadi and Missa Une mousse de Biscaye, was re - bidding a fond farewell to the magazine in May leased in October 2016. 2016. In 1995 he became the owner and pub - lisher of the Musical Times , the oldest continu - Peter Phillips (director ) has made an impres - ously published music journal in the world. His sive if unusual reputation for himself in first book, English Sacred Music 1549–1649 , was dedicating his life’s work to the research and published by Gimell in 1991, while his second, per formance of Renaissance polyphony. Having What We Really Do , an unblinking account of won a scholarship to Oxford in 1972, Phillips what touring is like, alongside insights about the studied with David Wulstan make-up and performance of polyphony, was and Denis Arnold, and gained experience in published in 2003 and again in 2013. conducting small vocal ensembles, already ex - In 2005 Peter Phillips was made a Chevalier perimenting with the rarer parts of the reper - de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French toire. He founded the Tallis Scholars in 1973, Minister of Culture, a decoration intended to with whom he has now appeared in over 2,000 honor individuals who have contributed to concerts and made over 60 discs, encouraging the understanding of French culture in the interest in polyphony all over the world. As a world. In 2008 he was appointed a Reed Rubin result of his work, through concerts, recordings, Director of Music at Merton College, Oxford, magazine awards, publication of editions of where the new choral foundation he helped to music, and scholarly articles, Renaissance music establish began singing services shortly there - has come to be accepted for the first time as after. His involvement included many tours part of the mainstream classical repertoire. The recordings, and broadcasts, a highlight being Tallis Scholars celebrated their 40th anniversary their first live broadcast on BBC Radio Three’s in 2013 with 99 concerts, worldwide. Choral in October 2011. Phillips is Apart from the Tallis Scholars, Phillips con - now a patron of the choir and a Bodley Fellow tinues to work with other specialist ensem bles. of the college. He has appeared with the Collegium Vocale of Ghent, Intrada of Moscow, Musica Reservata of Barcelona, and El Leon de Oro of Oviedo, and Exclusive North American management: is currently working with the BBC Singers, the Alliance Artist Management Netherlands Chamber Choir, and Choeur de 5030 Broadway, Suite 812 Chambre de Namur. Phillips gives numerous New York, NY 10034

B PLAYBILL