Early Music Vancouver presents War and Peace: The Tallis Scholars, on April 21, 2018 at 7:30pm at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts at UBC. Led by director Peter Phillips, the renowned vocal ensemble perform a programme commemorating the centenary of the end of the First World War. Their meticulously curated program draws from nearly 500 years of composition and ranges from the Renaissance works of Palestrina and Mouton, to contemporary compositions by Arvo Pärt and John Tavener. The pieces are combined into a complete but varied setting of the Catholic mass that manages to evoke both the glory and intensity of battle and the serene melancholy of senseless loss.
War and Peace uses the traditional Catholic mass as a basic framework to create a pastiche of movements sourced from various masses written by different Renaissance composers inspired by the theme of war. These mass movements are followed and complemented by peaceful elements in the programme including two movements from Victoria’s six voice Requiem Mass and several deeply moving funeral motets: Tavener’s work was sung at the funeral of Princess Diana; Mouton’s at the funeral of Anne of Brittany; and Lobo’s at the funeral of Philip II of Spain. The concert also features Estonian composer Arvo Pärt’s haunting The Woman with the Alabaster Box.
The Tallis Scholars were founded in 1973 by their director, Peter Phillips. Through their recordings and concert performances, they have established themselves as the leading exponents of Renaissance sacred vocal music throughout the world. Phillips has worked with the ensemble to create, through good tuning and blend, the purity and clarity of sound. He feels this tonal quality best serves the Renaissance repertoire, allowing every detail of the musical lines to be heard. This resulting beauty of sound is what has helped The Tallis Scholars to become so widely renowned.
EMV presents War & Peace: The Tallis Scholars
Date: Saturday, April 21, 2018 at 7:30pm
Pre-Concert Talk: 6:45pm with Peter Phillips, hosted by EMV’s Executive & Artistic
Director Matthew White
Address: Chan Centre for the Performing Arts 6265 Crescent Road, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1
Ticket Prices: From $18
Box Office: earlymusic.bc.ca or 604-822-2697
Website: earlymusic.bc.ca
Photo by Nick Rutter