Articles

Founded by Phillips in 1973, the Tallis Scholars quickly found acclaim for their pure-toned, historically scrupulous and pioneering performances of a wide array of Renaissance sacred music. The genial Phillips has remained as director and guiding light while the ensemble has seen inevitable personnel turnover over the last four decades. If not quite as evenly blended and tonally glowing as at its peak, under Phillips’ direction the Tallis Scholars’ current roster of ten singers brought stylish and historically informed vocalism to a wide range of Christmas settings. No Frosty the Snowman here. The Tallis Scholars rigorous program was built on texts centered on the Virgin Mary with a...

Alpha and Omega is a concise setting for a cappella choir on a text from Revelations (21:1-6). It begins fortissimo with a high statement by the full choir (“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth”), followed by a decrescendo as the notes likewise cascade downward. In the middle section, the choir sections are divided with just the women’s voices in “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with Man.” The male voices return, and as the work reaches its climax with “I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end,” the choir ascends to a full volume, coming full circle to where it began. Though brief at just six minutes, Alpha and Omega is a lovely miniature surely crafted and distinctive...