Hello List Members,

I sang one of the mean's in the Tallis 40-part motet  "Spem in alium" as 
a member of the Michigan State University Chorale under director Charles 
Smith at the Wharton Center in East Lansing (early 80s as I recall).  
The quintets were separated on stage and along the aisles near the front 
of the hall, and it worked well, always tricky to separate parts in a 
large ambient concert hall.  In this particular instance, I would also 
have enjoyed hearing the ensemble from the perspective of the listeners 
in the audience. 

Cheers!
Penny Draper

Thomas Dent wrote:

>It is always particularly satisfying when a hunch turns out to be
>correct. Was there any filling in of lost parts to be done, or just
>transcription and collation?
>
>A 40-part motet by Striggio ('Ecce beatam lucem') was already known -
>I sung in it in Dartington about 10 years ago.
>
>An article here
>
>http://www.andante.com/article/article.cfm?id=16297
>
>asks whether the anecdote of Italian precedence and the Duke of
>Norfolk is to be believed - and who knows?
>
>The style of the Striggio motet is completely different from the
>Tallis - I would say Striggio was like Monteverdi on some kind of
>stimulant drug. Harmonically and contrapuntally simple, but timbrally
>complex - polychoral with large instrumental complements - in other
>words, modern Italian ('baroque'??) style. Whichever came first,
>neither composer influenced the other in any way apart from the
>multiplicity of voices. Although I suppose both used general pauses to
>good effect.
>
>~~~T~~~
>
>
>  
>