Today’s CD (“The Lamentations and Contrafacta”) is an interesting blend of vocal music that’s varied enough not to sound too similar.
Plus, the lyrics are as spiritually nourishing and as liturgical as anything I’ve ever heard.
The female vocalists are especially on display in today’s recording. Terrifically moving and uplifting.
I’m going to violate my usual system, here, and say right off the bat that one track above all others jumped out at me. In fact, I’d go so far as to admit that this track gave me goosebumps.
I’m referring to Track 13 (“Sing and Glorify Heaven’s High Majesty”).
From the liner notes:
Lamentations and Contrafacta
This eighth and penultimate CD of Chapelle du Roi’s recording of the Complete Works brings together Tallis’s two fine settings of the Lamentations of Jeremiah and English adaptations of several of his best-known Latin motets.With the exception of Sing and glorify heaven’s high majesty—an English adaptation of the famous 40-part motet Spem in alium—all the music recorded here is scored for five-part choir. As has been pointed out in the notes for CD 7, the vocal ranges of many of Tallis’s Elizabethan motets (and consequently of their English adaptations) are more restricted than those of his pre-Reformation music. One inference that may be drawn from this is that the Elizabethan motets were conceived for performance at more than one pitch. Thus at a lower pitch they could have been performed by an ATTBarB combination, perhaps in private chapels, whereas if transposed upwards three or four semitones would have been performable by an SAATB ensemble, possibly in a domestic setting with females taking the top line. Consequently, for all the music on this disc, with the exception of Blessed are those that be undefiled, Sing and glorify heaven’s high majesty, and O praise the Lord, all of which have wide compasses, two pitch standards are used. These two pitch levels are described in the index as ‘high’ (usually SAATB) and ‘low’ (usually ATTBarB) respectively.
Tallis was one of many continental and English composers who composed settings of texts from the Lamentations of Jeremiah, the opening five verses of which formed part of the office of Matins (or Tenebrae) during Holy Week.
– Written by John Morehen, April 2004, Texts and Translations
NOTE: If you want to read more than my brief excerpt, you’ll have to buy the box set from Brilliant Classics.
Just the Facts
CD 8 of this 10-CD box set consists of 13 tracks that clock in at 63:22.
It was recorded Recorded 24-27 September 2002 at All Hallow’s Church, Gospel Oak.
This CD is marked DDD, which means it is an all-digital recording. (Digitally recorded, Digitally mixed, and Digitally mastered.) Purists, those folks who think vinyl sounds better than CDs (they’re wrong) would probably look askance at this recording. To my ears, this is the best way to record music to precisely capture every note. But what do I know?
Alistair Dixon conducted Chapelle du Roi.
Just the Feelings
Recording quality: 5
Overall musicianship/vocals: 5
CD liner notes: 5
How does this make me feel: 5
I was enjoying the songs on this CD just fine, thinking, “I could listen to this again.”
But then the last track appeared…
…and everything changed. The hairs on my arms stood on end and I thought, “I need to hear this again. And again. And again.”
There’s something about “Sing and Glorify Heaven’s High Majesty” that sounds like its title was perfectly chosen. It is music that glorifies heaven’s high majesty. The ebbing and flowing volume of the choir, the soaring sopranos, the composition…
Wow.
This track is why I do these projects. Even if I learned nothing else about Thomas Tallis, or heard nothing else from him, this would be all I need. This one track is worth sifting through 10 CDs to find.
If you can find this one Tallis CD as a standalone, buy it. If you can’t, buy the entire 10-CD box set. Here’s a tip, though: currently, this box set lists for over $200 on Amazon. Don’t be stupid. Buy it from Discogs where it’s listed for under $20.
But do buy it.