| Price: Sek. 175 (SACD) |
Newly recorded in the round and in surround sound, Thomas Tallis' 40-part motet, Spem in alium, one of the great landmarks of polyphony, forms the centrepiece of this dazzling CD. Under the theme, ‘Music for Monarchs and Magnates’ The Sixteen draws together music by Tallis, Byrd, Gibbons and Thomas Tomkins, some of it never before recorded, some indeed not performed since the time of its writing. It explores the use of music for ceremonial, even propaganda purposes by the state, contrasted with the composers’ private use of biblical texts to give public vent to their own sometimes dangerous views in an England torn by political and religious strife.
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