“Tallis is dead, and the music is dying,” wrote William Byrd in his elegy on the death of his teacher Thomas Tallis. Affectionately referred to as the father of English music, Tallis assumed his post in the royal chapel in 1543 and served the British royal family for more than 40 years. He maintained his reputation as the country's greatest composer throughout the turbulent reigns of four monarchs of varying faiths. He continuously adapted his compositional style to Protestant and Catholic sentiments and thus earned the favor of his respective employers.
Tallis' “Lamentations” have monumental significance for the English choral tradition. Probably composed in the early years of the reign of Elizabeth I, these settings subtly demonstrate the unique so-called "ambidenominational" style that emerged from the constant oscillation between Protestantism and Catholicism during Tallis' lifetime. In the form of an Evensong for Lent, a vocal ensemble and the sound of the organ frame Tallis' lamentations with smaller works from his entire life, thus providing an intimate insight into one of the most important compositional works of the English Renaissance.
Entrance is free but there will be a collection.

Website
rerenaissance.ch/en/events/25-02-24/lamentations/

Where
Kartäuserkirche
Theodorskirchplatz 7
4058 Basel

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