The a cappella (unaccompanied) mixed-voice group Tallis Consort has recently released a new CD featuring 22 tracks of choral music, recorded in the superb acoustical setting of St Mary’s Church in Douglas, incorporating several ex-choral scholars and experienced musicians drawn from the Island’s abundant music scene.
Currently directed by Brian Head (former choral scholar at King’s College, Cambridge, and subsequently a professional singer and conductor), Tallis Consort was borne of a group of friends who sang this distinctive early music as a leisure pursuit, with their first recitals during the 1990s, before the group developed into a more expansive and formal contemporary ensemble.
With only a handful of opportunities (usually December and May) to hear the Tallis Consort live at selected events, this CD offers a miscellany of compositions and an array of challenges for the singers throughout the sound track, which was recorded live by Matt Brewster (who also acted as editor and producer) and John Kaneen.
Singing unaccompanied, in English, Russian and Latin, this is a powerful blend of voices which highlights the work of composers such as Orlando Gibbons, William Byrd, Thomas Tallis and William Walton, but is not averse to Nordic and Russian influence, or the inclusion of Victorian Carols; with a repertoire extending from the fifteenth century up to present day.
The CD is available at various outlets across the Island priced at £10, with all profits donated to the Choristers’ Fund at Peel Cathedral to help provide musical tuition.
Valerie Caine
© May 2015
(Courtesy of Manx Tails)
