Tallis: Lamentations of Jeremiah in 2; Mass

Tallis: Lamentations of Jeremiah in 2; Mass

On this CD:

1. Lamentations (of Jeremiah), 1st lesson for 5 voices, P. 102
Composed by Thomas Tallis
Performed by Tallis Scholars

2. Absterge Domine, motet for 5 voices, P. 180
Composed by Thomas Tallis
Performed by Tallis Scholars

3. Derelinquit impius, motet for 5 voices, P. 189
Composed by Thomas Tallis
Performed by Tallis Scholars

4. Mihi autem nimis (also set as "Blessed be thy name"), motet (Introit) for 5 voices, P. 204
Composed by Thomas Tallis
Performed by Tallis Scholars

5. O sacrum convivium (also set as "I call and cry to thee" and "O sacred and holy banquet"), motet for 5 voices, P. 210
Composed by Thomas Tallis
Performed by Tallis Scholars

6. In jejunio et fletu, motet for 5 voices, P. 198
Composed by Thomas Tallis
Performed by Tallis Scholars

7. O salutaris hostia (also set as "O praise the Lord"), motet (antiphon) for 5 voices
Composed by Thomas Tallis
Performed by Tallis Scholars

8. In manus tuas, motet for 5 voices, P. 202
Composed by Thomas Tallis
Performed by Tallis Scholars

9. O nata lux de lumine, motet (hymn) for 5 voices, P. 209
Composed by Thomas Tallis
Performed by Tallis Scholars

10. Mass "Salve intemerata", for 5 voices, P. 3
Composed by Thomas Tallis
Performed by Tallis Scholars

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
This is the third disc the Tallis Scholars have devoted to their namesake composer--and unfortunately, it's the least successful. They bring their usual smooth, bright, pristine sound to music that calls for firm articulation and a somewhat darker color--they sound, frankly, like they'd rather be singing Palestrina. What's more, Phillips has transposed much of the music up (sometimes a fifth or more) in order to use his sopranos. Granted, they are wonderful singers, but using sopranos at a higher pitch in music where Tallis wrote the highest voice for an alto or high tenor changes the color of that music a lot--and not for the better. This is most damaging in the centerpiece of the disc (and Tallis's most famous work), the Lamentations of Jeremiah, which almost entirely loses the haunted, brooding quality that the Hilliard Ensemble catch so aptly on their ECM recording of these works. The other major work on the record is Salve intemerata, a lengthy prayer to the Virgin Mary with long, sometimes meandering melodies twisting around each other. The Tallis Scholars lose the music's forward momentum and sometimes seem to be droning on without the energy or interest that Chapelle du Roi brings to the work on their Tallis: Complete Works, Volume 1. You'd do better to listen to Phillips and his gifted singers in real Palestrina, which they sing peerlessly on their Live in Rome concert recording; to hear what they can do with Tallis at their best, try Spem in alium or the Christmas Mass. --Matthew Westphal