The Tallis Scholars I A Secrest Artists Series Event 7:30 pm, Thursday , March 29, 2007 Wait Chapel, Wake Forest University secrest artists series Winston-Salem, North Carolina ••• The Tallis Scholars Peter Phillips, director Soprano Tenor Tessa Bonner Andrew Carwood Janet Coxwell Nicholas Todd Chris Watson George Poo ley Alto Bass Patrick Craig Dona ld Greig Caro line Trevor Robert Macdonald Messa a quattro voci da capella ................. Claudio Monteverdi ( 1567-1643) Peccantem me quotidie ........ ,.... ,..... Giovanni Pierlu.igi Palestrina {1525-1594) Oum complerentur .............. , ............ G iovanni Pi erluigi Palestrin a INTERMISSION Media vit a ............................ N icolas Gombert ( 1495-1560) Media vita .......................... Orlande de Lassus (1532-1594) Stabat juxt a ....... , ...................... John Browne Magnifi cat IV ................... ... Nicolas Gombert In North America, The Tallis Scholars are managed by: International Arts Foundation, Inc. 201 West 54th Street, Suite lC New York, NY 10019 www.internationalartsfoimdation.com The Tallis Scholars record for Gimme ll Records www.gimmell.comwww.thetallisscholars.co.t,k The Tallis Scholars American Tour - 24th March to 1st April GregSkidmore One of the unique features of the history of Renaissance music was the variety with which the basic compositiona l idea of vocal polyphony was mterpreted in different countries and at different times. Tonight, the Tallis Scholars present music written over a span of over 140 years by compos- ers from varymg national backgrounds, and it will be possible to see both contrasts and similarities m their music. Most consider Claudio Monteverdi to be a Baroque composer. Even though his introduction of the seconda prattica has long been considered a watershed moment in the history of music, Monteverdi wrote in an older style, called prima prattica, throughout his life. In 1650, a posthu- mous collection of sacred music was published that contained the prima prattica ,mass on tonight's programme. It is a simple piece for four voices, abstract, thorough and transparent. Consciously conservative, Monteverdi harks back to the earlier practice of varying vocal texture and accentuat- ing certam passages of te:x:twith homophonic writing. However, the many long, descending, re- peating sequences are very much indicative of Monteverdi's modern style, as this harmonic device can be seen in many of his madrigals and throughout his famous Vespers of 1610. If Monteverdi's mass was written consciously in an older style, Palestrina 's works are the very definition of the purest form of Renaissance polyphony. The clarity and direct simplicity of his music is most noticeable first, but it is nonetheless imbued with emotional feeling and sensitivity. The two pieces chosen for this evening's concert are in stark contrast, highlighting this expressive range in Palestrina's music. Peccantem me quotidie, sets the responsory at Matins for the Office of the Dead in a thick, constant texture, punctuated by near-homophonic declarations of "Timer mortis" (The fear of death) and "Miserere mei Deus" (Have mercy on me, 0 God). It is a perfect example of Palestrina's penitential style, complete with expressive use of harmony and a profound understanding of the text. Dum complerentur, on the other hand, is a burst of energy, making use of largely homophonic rhythmic writing and varying textures in an almost polychoral style blended with florid, scalar blasts of counterpoint. It sets the first responsory at Matins for Pentecost, a text interspersed with the various "Alleluia" interjections that Palestrina uses to such great effect. Nicolas Gombert, born in approximately 1495, was a major fi.gure in the second generation of famous Flemish composers. Unfortunately, his biography will forever be mired in controve rsy, as there was a contemporacy rumour claiming Gombert acted improperly with a boy and was sen- tenced to a period of exile on a ship in the Mediterranean. On this ship, the story goes, Gombert wrote eight Magnificat settings - one in each of the 8 church modes - and these were of such a ••• high quality that they secured his release. Magnificat IV, which closes tonight's conce1.t, highlights his unique and expert use of thick, low and constant textures. It is a marvel of early 16th century Flemish counterpoint, with lengthy sections of dense polyphony, pu nctuated by clearly audible points of imitation . In the last verse, two new voices are introduced within the same ranges out- lined earlier, further thickening the texture and contributing to its powerful conclusion. Gombert's motet Media vita is another example of his mastery of these thick, rich textures. Written for 6 low voices, including the rare inclusion of a baritone part, it is a relentless complex of thorough counterpoint including, in brief passages, writing which suggests the possibility of false-relation dissonances, a technique most strong ly associated with English composers of the time. Orlande de Lassus, born approximately 40 years after Gombert, was the last major Flemish musician in the Renaissance to achieve international super-stardom. His setting of Media vita dif- fers greatly from Gombert's, however, and is indicative of the development of the Flemish style. Lassus sets up a strict long-note cantus firmus construction for this piece, in a conscious attempt to emulate an older style, but the contrapuntal ingenuity of the other five voices attests to the later style of which Lassus was a master, as each voice loosely imitates the general contour of the chant, sometimes in canon with the tenor, sometimes with freely writte n melodies. In this examination of stylistic variety, we have encountered an early Baroque version of po- lyphony and three quintessential Renaissance masters. It is perhaps fitting to include music from the very beginning of this period from a composer who is perhaps less well known. John Browne lived and wrote as one of the most famous and skilled English composers of his day. Born in the third quarte r of the 15th century, he never held a post in the Chapel Royal. However, the work which appears on tonight's programme, Sta bat juxta, contains as its cantus firmus tenor voice, a secular song composed to commemo rate Prince Arthur taking up his duties as Prince of Wales. The prince died in 1502 and the union of this secular song and the text depicting the Blessed Virgin Mary at the base of the cross suggests that the work was written for Queen Elizabeth, the wife of Henry VII. The piece itself is extraordinary in its use of six men's voices and in this way is similar to the rich style used by Gombert. In the Renaissance, sacred music was written almost exclusively using vocal polyphony. Far from being homogenous, however, its variety in emotional vigour and contrapuntal skill makes it interesting to study and captivating to hear . ••• Tallis Scholars Texts and Translations Mes sa a quattro voci da capella ............................................Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) Kyrie elei.son. Christe eleison. Kyrie eleison. Lord, have mercy. Christ, havemercy. Lord, havemercy. Gloria in excelsis Deo, et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis. Laudamus te; bencdicirnus l te; adoramus te; glorificarnus te. Gratias agimus tibi propter magnam gloriam tuam , Domine Deus, Rex caelestis, Deus Pater omnipotens. Domine Fili unigenite , Jesu Christe; Domine Deus , Agnus Dei , Filius Patris, qui. tollis peccata mundi , miserere nobis; qui tollis peccata mundi , suscipe deprecationem nostram; qui sedes ad dexteram Patris , miserere nobis. Quoniam tu solus Sandus; tu solus Dorninus; tu solus altissirnus, Jesu Christe , cum Sancto Spiritu , in gloria Dei Patris. Amen. Glorybe to God on h~·h, and in earthpeace, goodwill towards men. We praisethee; we blessthee; we worshipthee; we glori thee. We give thanks to theefor thy great glory,0 Lord God, heavenlyking, God the Fatheralmig ty. 0 Lord the only-begottenSon, Jesu Christ;0 Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father,that takest away the sins of the world, have mercyupon us; thou that takestaway the sins of the world,receive our prayer;thou that sittestat the right hand of God the Father, have mercyupon us. For thou only art Holy; thou only art the Lord;thou only, 0 Christ, with the Holy Ghost, art Most High in the gloryof God the Father. Amen. Credo in unum Deum , Patrem omnipotentem , factorem caeli et terrae , visibilium omnium et invisibilium. Et in unum Dominum Jesum Christum , Filium Dei unigenitum , ct ex Patre natum ante omnia saecula . Deum de Deo; Lumen de Lumine; Deum verum de Deo vero; genitum , non factum; consubstantialem Patri; per quern omnia facta sunt. Qui propter nos homines, et propter nostram salutem descendit de caelis, et incarnatus est de ] Spiritu Sancto, ex Maria Virgine, et homo factus est. Crudfixus etiam pro nobis sub Pontio Pilato; passus et sepultus est. Et resurre-x:ittertia die secundum Scripturas; et ascendit in caelum, sedet ad dexteram Patris; et iterum venturus est cum gloria judicare vivas et mortuos; cuius regni non crit finis. Et in Spiritum Sanctum , Dominum et vivificantem, qui ex Patre Filioque procedit; qui cum Patre et Filia simul adoratur et conglorificatur; qui locutus est per prophetas ; Et unam sanctam catholicam et apostolicam Ecclesiam . Confiteor unum baptisma in remis- sionem peccatorum. Et ex:specto resurrectionem mortuorum , et vitam venturi saeculi. Amen. I believein one God, the Father almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visibleand invisible.And in one Lord, JesusChrist, the only-begottenSon of God, begottenof his Fatherbefore all worlds. God of God; Light of Light;very God of very God; begotten,not made: beingof one substance with the Father;by whom all thingswere made. Who for us men, and for our salvation, came downfrom heaven, and was incarnateby the Holy Ghost of the VirginMary, and was made man. And was crucifiedalso for us under PontiusPilate; he suffered death and was buried. l And the third day he roseagain accordingto the Scriptures:and ascendedinto hea,,en,and is seatedat the right hand of the Father;and he shall come again with glory to judge both the quick and the dead; whosekingdom shall have no end.