2008 Woodie Awards
Tallis Scholars resound with 'Magnificats'
Rachel Greenhaus
Issue date: 4/6/06 Section: Arts
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Last Sunday, Middlebury College's community had an opportunity to hear the world-renowned Tallis Scholars in Mead Chapel. The group, made up of five women and five men, is visiting as part of their 2006 US tour. For their concert at Middlebury they performed a set rather uncharacteristic of their usual repertoire, drawing from late Renaissance-era music in Germany. The program, entitled "Mozart's Roots," began with a setting of the "Magnificat," by Praetorius. The piece opened with a solo chant line to introduce the melodic theme of the piece and the male soloist's voice was a beautiful preview of the choir sound that came in a moment later, pure but full, loud without any hint of strain. The piece utilized an almost constant echo effect between the women's and men's parts until they converged together at the very end with "Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto" and a strong, clear "Amen."
The first half of the program continued in the Latin sacred tradition, with three more pieces by Praetorius including one other "Magnificat" setting. The group also sang a harmonically intriguing "Ad dominum cum tribularer" by Hans Leo Hassler. a 16th-century German Renaissance composer and organist. What began as chordal harmonies were made unsettling by chromatic notes that were introduced in the higher parts. Phrases of irregular length alternated with more predictable lines. The sound was liquid and pleading, so legato that it almost seemed to ooze from note to note, leaving a melancholy sound that fit perfectly with the song's words, "In my distress I cried to the Lord, and he heard me. O Lord, deliver my soul from lying lips and a deceitful tongue."
The second half of the program began, after some shouts and cheers from the audience, with "Ave Maria," the last Latin piece of the evening, by Ludwig Senfl, a Swiss Renaissance composer who was director of the royal court's music under the Holy Roman Empire. .
After this began the German portion. The middle three songs of the second half were by Heinrich Schütz, one of two of Germany's most influential 17th-centurycomposers, and included "Deutsches Magnificat," a German setting of the same text as the two Praetorius pieces from the first set. This piece was one of the highlights of the evening, especially since the same concert brought two other versions of "Magnificat."
The first half of the program continued in the Latin sacred tradition, with three more pieces by Praetorius including one other "Magnificat" setting. The group also sang a harmonically intriguing "Ad dominum cum tribularer" by Hans Leo Hassler. a 16th-century German Renaissance composer and organist. What began as chordal harmonies were made unsettling by chromatic notes that were introduced in the higher parts. Phrases of irregular length alternated with more predictable lines. The sound was liquid and pleading, so legato that it almost seemed to ooze from note to note, leaving a melancholy sound that fit perfectly with the song's words, "In my distress I cried to the Lord, and he heard me. O Lord, deliver my soul from lying lips and a deceitful tongue."
The second half of the program began, after some shouts and cheers from the audience, with "Ave Maria," the last Latin piece of the evening, by Ludwig Senfl, a Swiss Renaissance composer who was director of the royal court's music under the Holy Roman Empire. .
After this began the German portion. The middle three songs of the second half were by Heinrich Schütz, one of two of Germany's most influential 17th-centurycomposers, and included "Deutsches Magnificat," a German setting of the same text as the two Praetorius pieces from the first set. This piece was one of the highlights of the evening, especially since the same concert brought two other versions of "Magnificat."