Photo: Richard Haughton

The Tallis Scholars

"The rock stars of Renaissance vocal music" New York Times

The Tallis Scholars were founded in 1973 by their director, Peter Phillips. Through their recordings and concert performances, they have established themselves as the leading exponents of Renaissance sacred music throughout the world. Peter Phillips has worked with the ensemble to create, through good tuning and blend, the purity and clarity of sound which he feels best serve the Renaissance repertoire, allowing every detail of the musical lines to be heard. It is the resulting beauty of sound for which the Tallis Scholars have become so widely renowned.

The Tallis Scholars perform in both sacred and secular venues, giving around 70 concerts each year. In April 1994 the group enjoyed the privilege of performing in the Sistine Chapel to mark the final stage of the complete restoration of the Michelangelo frescoes, broadcast simultaneously on Italian and Japanese television. In 1998 they celebrated their 25th Anniversary with a special concert in London's National Gallery, premiering a John Tavener work written for the group and narrated by Sting. A further performance was given with Sir Paul McCartney in New York in 2000.

In recent years, they have performed in Germany, Spain, Italy, the Concertgebouw in the Netherlands, the Cite de la Musique in Paris, throughout the USA, Japan, China, Australia, Singapore, and at many UK venues including Symphony Hall, Bridgewater Hall, Wigmore Hall, London's South Bank Centre and the Royal Albert Hall for the BBC Proms, where they appeared in July 2007 before an audience of more than five thousand people. Concerts in 2006 included their debuts in Iceland, Ravinia and Tanglewood, alongside their second appearance at the Mostly Mozart Festival in New York. 2007 will mark their debut at the Edinburgh Festival as well as a return to Moscow.

The group continues to commission living composers and gave the world premieres of two works written for 40 voices, I have thee by the hand, O Man by Robin Walker and When the wet wind sings by Errollyn Wallen.  In January 2006, they premiered Sir John Tavener's Tribute to Cavafy (the full realisation of In the Month of Athyr, the work he wrote for their 25th anniversary), narrated by Vanessa Redgrave.

Much of The Tallis Scholars reputation for their pioneering work has come from their association with Gimell Records, set up by Peter Phillips and Steve Smith in 1981 solely to record the Scholars. In February 1994 Peter Phillips and the Tallis Scholars performed on the 400th anniversary of the death of Palestrina in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome, where Palestrina had trained as a choirboy and later worked as Maestro di Cappella. The concerts wre recorded by Gimell and are available on both CD and DVD.

Two of their most recent discs, featuring the music of John Browne and Francisco Guerrero, have received exceptional reviews, the former winning the Early Music nomination at the annual Gramophone Awards in 2005. It was also nominated for a Grammy. Their latest disc presents the last word in embellishing Allegri's Miserere.

Recordings by the Tallis Scholars have attracted many awards throughout the world. In 1987 their recording of Josquin's Missa La sol fa re mi and Missa Pange lingua received Gramophone magazine's Record of the Year award, still the only recording of early music ever to win this coveted award. In 1989 the French magazine DIapason gave two of its coveted Diapason d'Or de lAnnée awards for recordings of a mass and motets by Lassus and of Josquin's two masses based on the chanson L'Homme armé. Their recording of Palestrina's Missa Assumpta est Maria and Missa Sicut lilium was awarded Gramophone's Early Music Award in 1991; they received the 1994 Early Music Award for their recording of music by Cipriano de Rore; and the same distinction again in 2005 for their disc of music by John Browne. These accolades are continuing evidence of the exceptionally high standard maintained by the Tallis Scholars, and of their dedication to one of the great repertoires in Western classical music. The group's second DVD/Video was released in 2003; made in collaboration with BBC television and entitled Playing Elizabeth's Tune, it focuses on the life and works of William Byrd and features performances of the sacred music of Elizabeth I's favourite composer, filmed in the beautiful surroundings of Tewkesbury Abbey. This has recently received a unique five-star listing in the French music magazine, Diapason.

Promoters please note: if you wish to include this biography in a concert programme etc, please contact Hazard Chase to ensure that you receive the most up to date version.
Email: Kirsty Smith