Vox Luminis XL - Spem in alium
21 July 2024/11h00/ Austria / Salzburg
Artistic director Lionel Meunier selected the iconic motet Media Vita of Sheppard, extremely moving music here flanked by two pieces written for 40 a capella voices. Writing for 40 voices implies a series of logistical and technical challenges. Tallis and Striggio probably met in London in 1567.
Tallis’s monumental 40-voice work, Spem in alium, was probably inspired by the example of Striggio. Whereas Striggio’s composition Ecce Beatam lucem was probably designed for semicircular performance, Tallis had designed his music to be heard ‘in the round’, with the listener seated within the circle of performers. The music seems as such to ‘rotate’ around a circle.
Tallis’s monumental 40-voice work, Spem in alium, was probably inspired by the example of Striggio. Whereas Striggio’s composition Ecce Beatam lucem was probably designed for semicircular performance, Tallis had designed his music to be heard ‘in the round’, with the listener seated within the circle of performers. The music seems as such to ‘rotate’ around a circle.
