Tallis Scholars, Anyone?
I went to a fun concert by the Tallis Scholars at the National Gallery of Art this afternoon. I've seen the early music supergroup perform a couple times over the years, usually with a different roster of singers each time, always under the direction of the ensemble's founder Peter Phillips. I was fortunate to find a listing of the concert among the free events at the Gallery (a treat, as I've paid a pretty penny to see them in the past). Perhaps I should have titled this, "Palestrina, Anyone?" as the concert featured a couple pieces by Renaissance great Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina paired with settings of the same texts from the Song of Solomon by other composers, frankly a fun programming choice, followed by modern works of of great contrast. The text of the first "Sicut lilium" is an unusually secular and sensuous text for Palestrina, whom most singers know from singing sacred pieces in churches: " As the lily among the thorns, so is my ...