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The Tallis Scholars & Peter Phillips

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

The Tallis Scholars & Peter Phillips · The Tallis Scholars are a British professional vocal ensemble for early music, founded in 1973 by Peter Phillips. Phillips studied music and was at that time an organ scholar at St John's College, Oxford. He asked members of the chapel choirs of Oxford and Cambridge to form an amateur ensemble for Renaissance music. The first performance was on 3 November 1973 in the church of St Mary Magdalen in Oxford. After ten years of concerts the group became professional. Usually there are two singers to a part, with a core of ten singers, singing a cappella, without instruments.

Music and breakthrough

The group performs some seventy times a year in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia. In 1994 it sang Allegri's Miserere in the newly restored Sistine Chapel. In 1999 it toured China and in 2000 it performed in New York with Paul McCartney. Since 1980 it has recorded for its own label Gimell Records, which has released more than sixty CDs. After a Gramophone Award in 1987 the Tallis Scholars are regarded as one of the best ensembles for Renaissance polyphony. In 2013 they received a place in the Gramophone Hall of Fame.

Influence

Polyphony means that several independent melodic lines sound at the same time. The singing of the Tallis Scholars is clear and pure, so that you can follow every voice. In School of Rock they sing Ave Maria... virgo serena by Josquin and the Kyrie from the Missa Papae Marcelli by Palestrina.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to the Kyrie from Palestrina's Missa Papae Marcelli. Notice how the voices enter one by one and together form a calm, continuous sound in which you can hear the text clearly.

See also

Categories: ArtistsFranco-Flemish polyphonyPalestrina and the Roman school