Three Great Tudors: Taverner, Tye & Tallis

Fresh from their recent United Kingdom tour, Ensemble Gombert presents Three Great Tudors: Taverner, Tye and Tallis, exploring the most turbulent century in English church music. Directed by founder John O'Donnell, we bring this magnificent historical repertoire home this September:

Christopher Tye: The performance features the exquisite six-voice Missa Euge bone. Though Tye was long established at Ely Cathedral and his work is rarely heard in modern concerts, this piece stands out as John O’Donnell’s absolute favourite mass setting of all time, celebrated for its beautiful sonorities and unexpected harmonic twists.

Thomas Tallis: Serving across four distinct monarchs, Tallis is represented by four masterful works. The centerpiece is the vast Marian antiphon Gaude gloriosa Dei mater, a true highpoint of pre-Reformation English polyphony. Filled with soaring lines and glorious counterpoint, it embodies the exact musical complexity that Reformation authorities once railed against for obscuring the sacred texts. (Fortunately, you will have no such trouble, as full lyrics are provided to follow along in the concert program!) This masterwork was possibly written during Tallis's tenure at Canterbury Cathedral, a historic venue where Ensemble Gombert performed just this past July. The choir will also perform the intricate seven-voice Pentecost respond, Loquebantur variis linguis.

John Taverner: Writing before the Reformation dramatically shifted the musical landscape, Taverner is represented by his evocative Easter response, Dum transisset Sabbatum, placing these three towering composers side by side in a single afternoon.