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| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 6, 2005 Tribute: Thomas TallisTwo of Canada’s finest professional vocal ensembles join forces to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the birth of Thomas Tallis at Metropolitan United Church on Friday, November 4 at 7:30 p.m. The Elmer Iseler Singers, conducted by Lydia Adams, and the Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal, conducted by Christopher Jackson, share the stage to perform Tallis’ powerful but ethereal sacred music, showcasing the amazing life and genius of one of choral music’s greatest fathers. The programme includes Tallis’ sublime 40-part motet Spem in Alium; Missa: Puer Natus est Nobis; The Lamentations of Jeremiah (Set 1); Latin and English motets, Gaude Gloriosa; and William Byrd’s Ye Sacred Muses, written upon the death of Thomas Tallis and in his memory. The programme also features the WORLD PREMIERE of Marjan Mozetich’s Ode to Tallis, commissioned by CBC/SRC. The career of the English composer Thomas Tallis (c1505-1585) spans the troubled period of the reign of Henry VIII, with the sequestration of monastic property, the Protestant régime of his successor, the re-establishment of Catholicism under Queen Mary and the subsequent changes under Queen Elizabeth. These political and religious changes had an obvious effect on music and musicians. Tallis wrote a quantity of Latin church music and contributed also to the reformed English liturgy, in some cases adapting earlier Latin compositions. One of his most remarkable achievements is the 40-voice Spem in alium. His setting of the Latin Holy Week liturgy Lamentations represents his work at its height. The composer's name is widely known through the metrical psalm tune known as Tallis's Canon, a setting of God, grant we grace. Firmly established as Montréal’s finest Early Music vocal ensemble, the Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal (founded in 1974) enjoys an established reputation of excellence at home and abroad for its inspired interpretations of the Renaissance and Baroque vocal repertoire. Under the direction of organist and harpsichordist Christopher Jackson, the Studio's ensemble is composed of 13 to 18 singers remarkable for the clarity and purity of their voices. This concert opens the Elmer Iseler Singers’ 27th season. Heralded for their 'textual expression, rhythmic accuracy, balance, and a deeply felt sense of musicianship', award-winning Elmer Iseler Singers are noted for their beauty of tone and wide interpretive range. Champions of contemporary choral repertoire, The Elmer Iseler Singers (founded in 1979 by the late Dr. Elmer Iseler) regularly commission and perform new works. The choir is frequently involved in radio and television broadcasts and a variety of recording projects. This concert will be repeated in Montreal by both choirs on November 6, 2005, and broadcast by the CBC/SRC on the Thomas Tallis anniversary – including a full length feature on the life of the celebrated composer - Sunday, November 20, 2005. TRIBUTE: THOMAS TALLIS Friday, November 4, 2005 at 7:30 p.m. -30-
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