On Thursday, February 28, the Tallis Scholars -- an ensemble of vocalists specializing in music of the Renaissance -- will perform the second of three performances in the Ithaca College Concerts yearlong season, "Legends." The concert will begin at 8:15 p.m. in Ford Hall in the James J. Whalen Center for Music.
The 2007–08 season has been named "Legends" because it offers concerts by world-renowned performers who have established themselves as popular and enduring figures. The season will conclude in April with the 30-year reunion tour of Tashi, the renowned chamber music ensemble.
Entitled "Music of Spain and Portugal," the Tallis Scholars performance features the "Requiem" for six voices by Tomás Luis de Victoria. Music in Latin by several other Spanish and Portuguese composers rounds out the program.
Individual tickets are on sale at the Clinton House ticket center and at www.ithacaevents.com. (The Ticket Center at Clinton House charges a $1-$2 service fee on all tickets sold through their box offices in order to support its operating costs and the performing arts organizations of Tompkins County.)
Individual ticket prices are as follows:
Children, senior citizens, and Ithaca College students -- $11
Ithaca College alumni, faculty, staff, and administrators; Friends of Ithaca College; other students -- $19
General public -- $22
The Tallis Scholars were founded in 1973 by Peter Phillips, their tireless and inspirational Oxford-educated director. Phillips has worked with the ensemble to create, through good tuning and blend, the purity and clarity of sound that he feels best serves the Renaissance repertoire, thus 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 ensemble has established itself as a leading exponent of Renaissance sacred music through its approximately 70 concerts a year and over 50 award-winning recordings on the Gimmel label. They are among the busiest ensembles in the world, with regular tours throughout Europe, North and South America, and the Far East. Their annual concerts have consistently received rave reviews and drawn capacity crowds.
Continuing to commission living composers, the Tallis Scholars recently gave the world premieres of two works written for 40 voices -- Robin Walker's "I Have Thee by the Hand, O Man" and "When the Wet Wind Sings" by Errollyn Wallen. In January 2006, they premiered Sir John Tavener's "Tribute to Cavafy" (the full realization of "In the Month of Athyr," the work he wrote for their 25th anniversary), narrated by Vanessa Redgrave.
For more information on Ithaca College Concerts, call 607-274-3717.
