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The Tallis Scholars finest recordings presented in this the 3rd of three volumes, one for each decade, and each offering over five hours of the award-winning performances that helped establish the sacred vocal music of the Renaissance as one of the great repertoires of western classical music.
I remember the first time I heard the Tallis Scholars: 1980, Allegri’s Miserere, the voices perfectly framed in the Chapel of Merton College, Oxford, and the ethereal beauty of Alison Stamp’s solo treble soaring into the acoustic – all for £1.99 on a Classics for Pleasure LP. It still sounds so fresh, and a perfect opening for this 30th birthday celebration. Volume 3 brings us the 21st-century Tallis Scholars and the first recording of Gombert’s cycle of expressively adventurous Magnificat settings. The Allegri is revisited, and redecorated, and the box ends with Masses by Josquin, their current preoccupation. Recording quality is superb throughout, and presentation is excellent with notes in three languages, and a fourth booklet in each box for texts. The sequencing has been done with real care, and for an overview of Sacred Music in the Renaissance, this could be all you need. Yes, for some the Tallis Scholars are too clean, too objective. Too perfect? That’s a problem I wish I had more often. –BBC Music Magazine,Dec’10
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