Life
Thomas Tallis was an English composer of High Renaissance church music, born around 1505 and died 23 November 1585. His earliest documented post was as organist at Dover Priory in 1532, after which he worked at Canterbury before becoming a Gentleman of the Chapel Royal, a position he held for the remainder of his life, serving under Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I. Born a Catholic, Thomas Tallis navigated the upheavals of the English Reformation without persecution, composing Latin polyphony for the old rite alongside pioneering English-language settings for the new Anglican liturgy. He is remembered as the father of English cathedral music.
Impact
Tallis stands as the foundational figure of English church music, his career spanning and shaping the transition from Latin Catholic polyphony to English Protestant choral tradition. His forty-voice motet Spem in alium remains one of the most technically astonishing works of the Renaissance, and his simple, chordal English anthems established a template still used in Anglican worship today.
Repertoire
Lamentations of Jeremiah, c. 1565
Two sophisticated five-voice settings of texts from the Book of Lamentations traditionally sung during Holy Week’s Tenebrae services.
Lamentations of Jeremiah by Thomas Tallis – Tenebrae 2019 live recording — Performed by University of King’s College Chapel Choir · Live Tenebrae service recording, 2019
Spem in alium, c. 1570
A monumental 40-voice motet divided into eight five-voice choirs, celebrated as one of the most extraordinary contrapuntal achievements of the Renaissance.
tallis scholars/spem in alium v.1 — Performed by The Tallis Scholars · Studio recording