- Born:
- c. 1505, Kent?
- Died:
- November 20 or 23, 1585, Greenwich, London
- Notable Works:
- “Miserere nostri”
- “Spem in alium nunquam habui”
- Movement / Style:
- polyphony
Thomas Tallis
-
Who was Thomas Tallis?
Thomas Tallis (c. 1505-1585) was a prominent English composer of sacred music, bridging simple Reformation service music and the polyphonic style of Continental schools. He served the English monarchy under Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary Tudor, and Elizabeth I as a member of the Chapel Royal.
With William Byrd, Tallis was granted a monopoly by Queen Elizabeth I in 1575 to print music in England. His works include a modest, unnamed four-part mass, a five-part mass, Salve intemerata, settings of the Magnificat, and the celebrated 40-part Spem in alium. He composed music for the English liturgy, including settings of the preces, responses, litany, and a service "in the Dorian mode".
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In which period of history did Thomas Tallis live and compose music?
Thomas Tallis (c. 1505–1585) lived during the Tudor period in England, serving under Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary Tudor, and Elizabeth I. He composed during a time of significant religious and political change, bridging the gap between the Roman and Anglican musical styles. Tallis was a highly influential composer of sacred music, and along with William Byrd, was granted a monopoly for printing music in England by Queen Elizabeth I in 1575.
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What kind of music did Thomas Tallis write?
Thomas Tallis was a significant English composer of sacred music before William Byrd. His compositions covered both simple Reformation service music and the elaborate Continental polyphonic styles, which he significantly introduced into English music.
Tallis's works include a modest four-part mass, a five-part mass ( Salve intemerata), a seven-part mass, and two Magnificat settings. His two settings of the Lamentations of Jeremiah are among his most famous pieces. He also composed the seven-part Miserere nostri and the 40-part Spem in alium. Tallis was among the first to set the English liturgy to music, including settings of the preces and responses, the litany, a complete service "in the Dorian mode," three sets of psalms, and various anthems.
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Why is Thomas Tallis important in English music history?
Thomas Tallis (c. 1505–1585) stands as a pivotal figure in English music history, bridging the gap between the simple Reformation service music and the grand Continental polyphonic styles, significantly influencing their introduction into English music. Serving under Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary Tudor, and Elizabeth I, Tallis contributed to both Roman and Anglican liturgies, composing masses, Magnificats, and anthems. His mastery of counterpoint is evident in works like Miserere nostri and the 40-part Spem in alium, a unique monument in English music. Tallis was among the first to set the English liturgy to music, and his work continues to be performed and recorded in the 21st century.
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Who did Thomas Tallis work for during his career?
During his career, Thomas Tallis held several prestigious positions. He served as an organist at Dover Priory in 1530–31 and at St. Mary-at-Hill, London, in 1537–38. In 1538, he moved to Waltham Abbey, Essex. By 1543, Tallis became a member of the Chapel Royal, serving under Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary Tudor, and Elizabeth I. In 1575, Queen Elizabeth granted Tallis and William Byrd a monopoly for printing music in England.
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How did Thomas Tallis influence later composers and church music?
Thomas Tallis significantly shaped English sacred music, bridging simple Reformation service music and the grand Continental polyphonic styles. He introduced the latter's influence into English music.
Tallis was among the first to set the English liturgy to music, composing settings for the preces, responses, litany, and a complete service "in the Dorian mode," including morning and evening canticles plus the Communion service. Moreover, he wrote three sets of psalms and multiple anthems. His work had a lasting impact, inspiring 20th-century composers such as Ralph Vaughan Williams, whose Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis (1910) was based on Tallis’s Third Psalter Tune.
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Thomas Tallis (born c. 1505, Kent?—died November 20 or 23, 1585, Greenwich, London) was one of the most important English composers of sacred music before William Byrd. His style encompassed the simple Reformation service music and the great Continental polyphonic schools whose influence he was largely responsible for introducing into English music.
Nothing is known of Tallis’s education. In 1530–31 he held a post as an organist at Dover Priory, and in 1537 and part of 1538 he was at St. Mary-at-Hill, London, though it is not known in what capacity. He moved to Waltham Abbey, Essex, in 1538, and his name appears in a list of persons who in 1540 received wages and rewards for services at the dissolution of the abbey. From Waltham he appears to have gone briefly to Canterbury Cathedral, where he is listed among the singers. In 1543 he became a member of the Chapel Royal. In a petition to Queen Elizabeth I, made jointly with Byrd in 1577, he refers to having “served your Majestie and your Royall ancestors these fortie years,” but it is thought that perhaps he had some association with the court in the years before his appointment as a gentleman of the Chapel Royal. In that capacity he served under Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary Tudor, and Elizabeth I.
On January 21, 1575, Queen Elizabeth granted Tallis and Byrd the monopoly for printing music and music paper in England; that was the first instance of letters patent issued for that purpose. The first publication under their license was a collection of 34 motets, 17 by Tallis and 17 by Byrd (perhaps referring to the 17 years of Elizabeth’s reign to date), entitled Cantiones sacrae, printed by T. Vautrollier in 1575. Those Latin pieces, together with five anthems to English texts printed by Protestant printer John Day in his Certaine Notes… (issued 1565, though partially printed in 1560), comprised all of his music that Tallis saw in print during his lifetime.
Tallis’s Latin works include a modest, unnamed four-part mass; a five-part mass, Salve intemerata, derived from his antiphon of the same name; a seven-part mass; and two settings of the Magnificat. He also made two settings of the Lamentations of Jeremiah, the first of which is among his most-celebrated works. Among his Latin pieces two in particular are often cited as demonstrations of Tallis’s supreme mastery of the art of counterpoint: the seven-part Miserere nostri, an extraordinary feat of canonic writing, involving retrograde movement together with several degrees of augmentation; and the famous 40-part Spem in alium, considered a unique monument in English music.
Tallis was one of the first composers to provide settings of the English liturgy. He wrote settings of the preces and responses, the litany, and a complete service “in the Dorian mode,” which consists of the morning and evening canticles and the Communion service. There are also three sets of psalms and a number of anthems.
Tallis’s keyboard music is regarded as substantial and significant. Of his 20 extant keyboard pieces, most appear in the mid-16th-century manuscript known as the Mulliner Book.
Tallis’s work lived on into the 21st century, aided by such groups as the Tallis Scholars, who performed and recorded music of the Renaissance. Its survival was also helped in part by English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams, whose highly popular Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis (1910; rev. 1913, 1919) was based on Tallis’s Third Psalter Tune. Vaughan Williams had discovered that musical piece when he took over the music editorship of The English Hymnal (1906).
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