Thomas Tallis (c. 1505 – 23 November 1585) was an English composer. Events 800 - Charlemagne arrives at Rome to investigate the alleged crimes of England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland A composer (literally meaning 'one who puts together' is a person who creates Music, usually in the medium of notation, for Interpretation and Performance Tallis flourished as a church musician during the often stormy 16th century in England. He occupies a primary place in anthologies of English church music, and is considered among the best of its earliest composers. Tallis has been said to be one of the most important composers of his time and is honoured for his original voice in English musicianship (Farrell 125).
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Early life
Little is known about his early life, but there seems to be agreement that he was born in the early 16th century, toward the close of the reign of Henry VII. His first known appointment to a musical position was as organist of Dover Priory in 1530-31, a Benedictine priory at Dover (now Dover College) in 1532. The organ (from Greek όργανον – organon "organ instrument tool" is a Keyboard instrument of one or more divisions each The Priory of St Mary the Virgin and St Martin of the New Work or Newark, commonly called Dover Priory, was a Priory at Dover, Benedictine refers to the Spirituality and Consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in A priory is a House of men or women under religious vows headed by a Prior or prioress Dover is a town and major ferry port in the county of Kent, England. Dover College is a Co-educational public school in Dover, Kent, England. His career took him to London, then (probably in the autumn of 1538) to the Augustinian abbey of Holy Cross at Waltham whose London residence stood nearby, until the abbey was dissolved in 1540; then he went to Canterbury Cathedral, and finally to Court as Gentleman of the Chapel Royal in 1543, composing and performing for Henry VIII during which he wrote music for the Protestant Church of England (Holman 201), Edward VI (1547-1553), Queen Mary (1553-1558), and Queen Elizabeth I (1558 until he died in 1585) (Thomas 136). London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. The Augustinians, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo (died AD 430) are several Catholic Monastic orders and congregations The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the formal process between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England and forms part of a A Chapel Royal is a department of the Ecclesiastical Household of the monarch in right of each of the Commonwealth realms formally known as the royal Henry VIII (28 June 1491 &ndash 28 January 1547 was King of England and Lord of Ireland, later King of Ireland and claimant to the Kingdom of Edward VI (12 October 1537 &ndash 6 July 1553 became King of England and Ireland on 28 January 1547 and was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine Mary I (18 February 1516 &ndash 17 November 1558 was Queen of England and Queen of Ireland from 19 July 1553 until her death Throughout his service to successive monarchs as organist and composer, Tallis avoided the religious controversies that raged around him.
Tallis married around 1552; his wife, Joan, outlived him by four years. They apparently had no children. Late in his life he lived in Greenwich, likely close to the royal palace: a local tradition holds that he lived on Stockwell Street. [1]
Early works
The earliest works, three pieces in particular, 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. Thomas Cardinal Wolsey (c1470–1471 – November 28 or November 29 1530 who was born in Ipswich Suffolk England was an English Statesman and a cardinal Henry VIII's break with Roman Catholicism in 1534 and the rise of Thomas Cranmer noticeably influenced the style of music written. Henry VIII (28 June 1491 &ndash 28 January 1547 was King of England and Lord of Ireland, later King of Ireland and claimant to the Kingdom of Texts became largely confined to the liturgy. The writing of Tallis and his contemporaries became less florid. Tallis's Mass for four voices is marked with tendencies toward a syllabic and chordal style and a diminished use of melisma. In the mathematical area of Graph theory, a graph is chordal if each of its cycles of four or more nodes has a chord, which is an Melisma, in music is singing a single syllable of text while moving between several different notes in succession Tallis provides a rhythmic variety and differentiation of moods depending on the meaning of his texts (Manderson 86). Tallis helped found a relationship that was specific to the combining of words and music (Phillips 11).
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. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. The Catholic Mary Tudor set about undoing the religious reforms of the preceding decades. Following the accession of the Catholic Mary in 1553, the Roman Rite was restored and compositional style reverted to the elaborate writing prevalent early in the century. Catholic is an Adjective derived from the Greek adjective '' / 'katholikos' meaning "whole" or "complete". The liturgical rite of the Church of Rome is called the Roman Rite. Two of Tallis's major works, Gaude gloriosa Dei Mater and the Christmas Mass Puer natus est nobis are believed to be from this period. Only Puer natus est nobis can be accurately dated in 1554. 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. List of current queens regnant A queen regnant (plural "queens regnant" is qualifying reference to a female Monarch possessing and exercising all of the monarchal Theotokos (Θεοτόκος translit Theotókos) is a title of Mary the mother of Jesus used especially in the Eastern Orthodox,
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. The Book of Common Prayer is the common title of a number of prayer books of the Church of England and used throughout the Anglican Communion. Composers at court resumed writing English anthems, although the practice of setting Latin texts continued, growing more peripheral over time. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome.
The mood of the country in the beginning of Elizabeth's reign leant toward the puritan, which discouraged the liturgical polyphony. In Music, polyphony is a texture consisting of two or more independent Melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice ( Monophony Tallis wrote nine psalm chant tunes for four voices for Archbishop Parker's Psalter, published in 1567. Matthew Parker ( 6 August 1504 &ndash 17 May 1575) was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1559 until his death in 1575 One of the nine tunes, the "Third Mode Melody", inspired the composition of Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis by Ralph Vaughan Williams in 1910 (Steinberg 291). Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, also known as the Tallis Fantasia, is a piece of orchestral music by the British Composer Ralph (reɪf Vaughan Williams OM (12 October 1872 &ndash 26 August 1958 was an English Composer of symphonies, Chamber music Year 1910 ( MCMX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Fantasia is scored only for a string orchestra and it only takes one quarter of time in performance (Steinberg 291). It was first introduced at the Three Choirs Festival at Gloucester Cathedral (Steinberg 291). Tallis's better-known works from the Elizabethan years include his settings of the Lamentations (of Jeremiah the Prophet) (Thomas 136) for the Holy Week services and the unique motet Spem in alium written for eight five-voice choirs (Barber 34). The Lamentations of Jeremiah the Prophet have been set by various composers Spem in alium is a forty-part Motet by Thomas Tallis, composed circa 1570 for eight choirs of five voices each It is thought that this 40-voice piece was part of a celebration of the Queen's 40th birthday in 1573. Tallis is mostly remembered for his role in composing office hymns and this motet, Spem in alium (Cohn-Sherbok 285).
Later works
Toward the end of his life, Tallis resisted the musical development seen in his younger contemporaries such as William Byrd, who embraced compositional complexity and adopted texts built by combining disparate biblical extracts (Lord 69). William Byrd (c 1540 &ndash 4 July 1623 was an English Composer of the Renaissance. Tallis' experiments during this time period were considered rather unusual (Phillips 11). Tallis was content to draw his texts from the Liturgy (Farrell 125) and wrote for the worship services in the Chapel Royal (Farrell 125). A liturgy is the customary public worship done by a specific religious group according to their particular traditions A Chapel Royal is a department of the Ecclesiastical Household of the monarch in right of each of the Commonwealth realms formally known as the royal In 1543, he probably began to serve full time as a member of the Chapel Royal. The Chapel Royal later became a Protestant establishment (Farrell 125). Tallis has been variously claimed to be a Protestant, Catholic, and a religious Pragmatist. Mary granted him a lease on a manor in Kent that provided a comfortable annual income (Holman 24). Elizabeth granted to Tallis and Byrd a twenty-one year monopoly in 1575 for polyphonic music (Holman 1) and a patent to print and publish music, which was one of the first arrangements of that type in the country (Thomas 137). William Byrd (c 1540 &ndash 4 July 1623 was an English Composer of the Renaissance. Tallis' monoply covered 'set songe or songes in parts, and he was able to compose in English, Latin, French, Italian, or other tongues as long as they served for music in the Church or chamber (Holman 1). Tallis had exclusive rights to print any music, in any language (Barber 25). He and William Byrd were the only ones allowed to use the paper that was used in printing music ( Barber 25). Tallis and Byrd used their monopoly to produce Cantiones quae ab argumento sacrae vocantur but the piece did not sell well and they appealed to Queen Elizabeth for her support (Holman 1). Tallis and Byrd could work for two opposing religions as long as they did not bring their beliefs into their jobs (Lord 135). He retained respect during a succession of opposing religious movements and deflected the violence that claimed Catholics and Protestants alike (Gatens 181). Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation. Tallis endured a difficult period during the time of the church and his music often displays characteristics of the turmoil (Gatens 181).
Thomas Tallis died peacefully in his house in Greenwich in November 1585 on either the 20th or 23rd. Events in November All Saints' Day (formerly All Hallows Day a Christian holy day is celebrated on November 1, the day after Halloween He was buried in the chancel of the parish of St Alfege's Church. St Alfege Church is a Church of England place of worship in the town centre of Greenwich in the eponymous London Borough. A couplet from his epitaph reads:
As he did live, so also did he die, In mild and quiet Sort (O! happy Man).
Byrd wrote the musical elegy Ye Sacred Muses on Tallis's death. Ye Sacred Muses is William Byrd 's Musical Elegy on the death of his colleague and sometime mentor Thomas Tallis.
Media
Lamentatione Jeremiae Prophetae Recorded live in Madonna dei Monti, Rome by The Tudor Consort in November 2005 (5Mb) If ye love me (2Mb) - Problems playing the files? See media help. The Tudor Consort is a specialist early choral group based in Wellington New Zealand.
See also
- The Tallis Scholars, a modern group of musicians specializing in vocal music from the Renaissance. The Tallis Scholars are a British vocal ensemble normally consisting of two singers per part with a core group of ten singers The Renaissance (from French Renaissance, meaning "rebirth" Italian: Rinascimento, from re- "again" and nascere
References
- Barber, David W. Bach, Beethoven, and the Boys: Music History As It Ought to Be Taught. Toronto Sound and Vision, 1996.
- Barber, David W. If It Ain’t Baroque: More Music History As It Ought to Be Taught. Toronto Sound and Vision, 1992.
- Cohn-Sherbok, Lavinia. Who’s Who in Christianity. London, New York Routledge, 1998.
- Farrell, Joseph. Latin Language and Latin Culture: From Ancient to Modern Times. New York Cambridge University Press, 2001.
- Gatens. “Tallis: Works, all. ” American Record Guide 68. 3 (May-June 2005): 181.
- Holman, Peter. Dowland: Lachrimae (1604); Cambridge Music Handbooks. Cambridge University Press, 1999.
- Lord, Suzanne. ; Brinkman, David. Music From the Age of Shakespeare: A Cultural History. Westport, Conn Greenwood Publishing Group, 2003.
- Manderson, Desmond. Songs Without Music: Aesthetic Dimensions of Law and Justice. University of California Press, 2000.
- Paul Doe/David Allinson: "Thomas Tallis", Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed 5 May 2007), (subscription access)
- Phillips, Peter. “Sign of Contradiction: Tallis at 500. ” Musical Times 146 (Summer 2005): 7-15.
- Thomas, Jane Resh. Behind the Mask: The Life of Queen Elizabeth I. New York Houghton-Muffin Trade and Reference, 1998.
- Steinberg, Michael. Choral Masterworks: A Listener’s Guide. New York Oxford Press, 2005.
Notes
- ^ Paul Doe/David Allinson, Grove online
External links
- A BBC Radio 3 programme on Tallis and Spem in Alium in particular (use BBC listen again feature)
- Free scores by Thomas Tallis in the Werner Icking Music Archive (WIMA)
- Thomas Tallis was listed in the International Music Score Library Project
- Listen to free recordings of Latin church music and English church music from Umeå Akademiska Kör
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