Victoria - Lamentations of Jeremiah
Tallis Scholars / Philips
Gimell CDGIM043

Release date April 2010

On the 22nd and 23rd March 1980, in the Chapel of Merton College, Oxford, the first Gimell recording was made by the Tallis Scholars. Allegri's Miserere was the first piece chosen for the first release, and it is testament to this remarkable group and their founder Peter Philips that, thirty years and 50 recordings later, that very first disc continues to sell regularly. Their 50th release was recorded in the very same chapel and features Tomas Luis de Victoria's Lamentations of Jeremiah plus Padilla's Lamentations for Maundy Thursday. Victoria wrote three Lamentations each for Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday. As they proceed the number of voices increases, allowing subtle climaxes to be achieved. The Victoria and the Padilla share an underlying intensity, enhanced further by the delicate shifts in volume and timbre. The performances are naturally first rate, and this, combined with the glorious acoustic of Merton College Chapel, makes for a memorable disc. As a reviewer for the BBC magazine summed up: "The Tallis Scholars produce luminous, freeflowing accounts [which] have a plangent beauty, characterised by the lucent sound and faultless intonation that have been the defining strengths of this choir during the last four decades." Authoritative notes are provided by director Peter Philips.

Reviewed by Dawn Cooke