Thomas Tallis Royaume-Uni Thomas Tallis (c 1510–23 November 1585) was an English composer. Tallis flourished as a church musician during the often stormy sixteenth century in England. He occupies a primary place in anthologies of English church music, and is considered among the best of its earliest composers.
Little is known about his early life, but there seems to be agreement that he was born around 1505, toward the close of the reign of Henry VII. His first known appointment to a musical position was as organist of Dover Priory, a Benedictine priory at Dover (now Dover College) in 1532. His career took him to London, then organist of Waltham Abbey, until the abbey was dissolved in 1540, then Canterbury Cathedral, and finally to court as Gentleman of the Chapel Royal in 1543, composing and performing for Henry VIII, Edward VI, Queen Mary, and Queen Elizabeth. He remained in the service of the Sovereign for the rest of his life as organist and composer, avoiding the religious controversies that raged around him.
The earliest works by Tallis that survive are devotional antiphons to the Virgin Mary, which were used outside the liturgy and were cultivated in England until the fall of Cardinal Wolsey. Henry VIII's break with Roman Catholicism in 1534 and the rise of Thomas Cranmer noticeably influenced the style of music written. Texts became largely confined to the liturgy. The writing of Tallis and his contemporaries became less florid, with marked tendency toward a syllabic and chordal style and a diminished use of melisma.
The reformed Anglican liturgy was inaugurated during the short reign of Edward VI (1547-1553), and Tallis was one of the first church musicians to write anthems set to English words, although Latin continued to be used also. Following the accession of the Catholic Mary, the Roman rite was restored and compositional style reverted to the elaborate writing prevalent early in the century. Two of Tallis' major works, Gaude gloriosa Dei Mater and the Christmas Mass Puer natus est nobis are from this period. As was the prevailing practice, these pieces were intended to exalt the image of the Queen as well as to praise the Mother of God.
Elizabeth succeeded her half-sister in 1558, and the Act of Settlement in the following year abolished the Roman liturgy and firmly established the Book of Common Prayer. Composers at court resumed writing English anthems, although the practice of setting Latin texts continued, growing more peripheral over time.
The mood of the country in the beginning of Elizabeth's reign leant toward the puritan, which discouraged the liturgical polyphony. Tallis wrote nine psalm chant tunes in parts for Archbishop Parker's Psalter (the 'Third Mode Melody') published in 1567. One of the nine tunes inspired the composition of Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis by Ralph Vaughan Williams in 1910. Tallis' better-known works from the Elizabethan years include his settings of the Lamentations (of Jeremiah the Prophet) for the Holy Week services and the unique motet Spem in alium written for eight five-voice choirs. It is thought that this 40-voice piece was part of a celebration of the Queen's 40th birthday in 1573.
Toward the end of his life, Tallis resisted the musical development seen in his younger contemporaries like William Byrd, who embraced compositional complexity and adopted texts built by combining disparate biblical extracts. Tallis was content to draw his texts from the liturgy and write for the worship services in the Chapel Royal. Tallis remained a Catholic his whole life, and was well-regarded by the four Sovereigns he served. Mary granted him a lease on a manor in Kent that provided a comfortable annual income. Elizabeth granted to Tallis and Byrd a patent to print and publish music, which was one of the first arrangements of that type in the country. He retained respect during a succession of opposing religious movements and deflected the violence that claimed Catholics and Protestants alike.
Thomas Tallis died peacefully in his house in Greenwich in November 1585, and was buried in the chancel of the parish of St Alfege's Church. A couplet from his epitaph reads: (Hide extended text) ... (Read all) Source of the extract of the biography : Wikipedia
Interest : Skill level : My daughter would like me and
her 3 brothers to sing this at
her wedding ceremony. This
arrangement, at first glance
looks to be just what we need
to start rehearsing. Wonderful
resource. Thanks very much.
Comment posted the 2010-02-02, by bethany (visitor)
Interest : Skill level : very clearly set out, a lot of
the time, i find these scores
still in their original stsve
setting which means unless you
are trained in reading in this
style, it is impossible to
present to a choir to sing
Comment posted the 2010-01-23, by Isolde Lee (visitor)
Interest : Skill level : Thank you for making it
possible for me to have this
particular music for
choir.Tallis is such a
fascinating composer and yet a
bit unknown in Germany.I sing
in a little choir where we can
always state our wishes in
what to sing.
Interest : Skill level : I do note that this anthem
lacks a piano condensation
which is unfortunate for some.
It also is rather crowded on
the page, and showing measure
numbers for every system adds
to the confusion. Not as clean
as the Oxford UP edition, but
this is much much more
affordable, so I think it's
generally worth using. I
understand that leaving off
the piano reduction allows you
to condense the music onto two
pages, which in turn makes
printing it on one sheet more
viable; again, it's a
compromise, but certainly a
useful anthem. As far as any
editing goes, for modern
choirs (especially with
amateur directors), one would
expect a certain amount of
dynamic indications...but this
is not a concern for those who
know the style.
Comment posted the 2009-11-23, by daniel mccready (visitor)
Interest : Skill level : For a small amateur madrigal
group (which I run) this is
pure gold as we have limited
financial means at our
disposal and we sing for the
fun of it. We are currently
preparing for a small concert
in the local parish church in
aid of a church restoration
fund. (Aren't they always!)
Comment posted the 2009-08-19, by pythagore (visitor)
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