Tallis: Spem in alium - Editorial notes - ed. Peter Gritton

by THOMAS TALLIS

~ Tenebrae Edition ~

created and edited by

Peter Gritton

Editor’s notes

This edition of Thomas Tallis’s magnificent Spem in alium is based on the earliest source material, a 17th manuscript of Sing and glorify, which resides in the British Library – known as Egerton 3512, which can be accessed online as part of the British Library’s amazing digital resource. The original material of Spem in aliium itself is missing. Sing and glorify is a ‘contrafactum’, defined as a piece of music in which the original music remains intact but the original text has been replaced by new words with an unrela ted meaning. Sing and glorify was made in the second decade of the 17th century for use within the royal circles of the Stuart Family about thirty years after Tallis’s death and well over forty years since he wrote Spem in alium within the Tudor era. Fortunately, the 17th century scribe of Sing and glorify wrote the original Latin text out in full on the first page and from this it is clear that the new English words are a syllable-by-syllable substitution of the original Latin text. It is therefore possible to reinstate the Latin text pretty accurately by reversing the substitution process, though some interpretation is required where the manuscript is either unclear or indeed missing due to paper erosion. In Egerton 3512, there is a well-preserved ‘Thorough Bass’ line running continuously through the motet, which has been included in its entirety in the vocal scores as a reference to support other vocal cues. It cannot be proven without an original MS of Spem in alium whether this thorough-bass part was of Tallis’s making or a 17th century instrumental addition.

It is clear through analysing the structure of Spem in alium how precise Tallis was in planning his ‘Songe in Fortie Partes’. Whilst it was important that this edition is as faithful as possible to Egerton 3512 and as such bears the necessary hallmarks of well-honed scholarship, it is first and foremost a performing edition which prioritises the engagement of performers, thus enhancing a common purpose amongst those involved. Importantly in this regard, this edition latches on to the internal symmetries of the motet through synchronising page-turns in all singers’ scores, which in turn correlate with the layout of the conductor’s score (see below). It is hoped that, as Tallis moves from section to section, from one line of text to the next, performers will feel simultaneously connected to the corresponding dramatic changes of mood and atmosphere. When the Latin text is capitalised, it is merely to highlight the significance of vocal entries or textures and is regarded as preferrable to swathes of editorial dynamics. All original accidentals have been included as one might expect, even if they are semi-superfluous – e.g. some of the naturals in bar 131. In this edition, ‘musica ficta’ either occurs in brackets as a strong suggestion or, when placed above notes as an option/reminder, to be applied at performers’ discretion.

It is feasible that Tallis wrote Spem in alium with a particular venue in mind, the most likely one being at Arundel House, the London residence of the Earl of Arundel on the north bank of the River Thames (and which no longer exists). Any subsequent performances may or may not have departed from Tallis’s initial intentions and, certainly by the time of Sing and glorify, organisers of performances would have completely lost touch with Tallis’s original concept and layout of forces. All of this is historical speculation, but when combined with an in- depth analysis we may further theorise on how the performers were placed geographically within the performance space – most likely four groups of ten parts each divided into two antiphonal sub -sets of five, in other words, four choirs arranged in a Dec-and-Can formation:

Choir 1 is Parts 1-5 (Dec) & 6-10 (Can)

Choir 2 is Parts 11-15 (Dec) & 16-20 (Can)

Choir 3 is Parts 21-25 (Dec) & 26-30 (Can)

Choir 4 is Parts 31-35 (Dec) & 36-40 (Can)

This edition was road-tested successfully by director Ben Parry and senior members and alumni of the National Youth Choir of Great Britain. This was held in the Royal Albert Hall in 2023 as part of NYCGB’s 40th anniversary celebrations, a performance which was enhanced by a son- et-lumière display which visually revealed Tallis’s audial secrets! What lies beneath the surface of this magnificent motet is the subject of ongoing research but for now it is important to show how this edition adheres to Tallis’s proportional planning. The table below is how the scores are laid out In the conductor ’s score, the vocal-score page numbers have been inserted as boxed text and can therefore serve as rehearsal numbers Please note that often Tallis dovetails/overlaps a new section with the previous section thus beginning just ahead of the ‘proportional markers’ below, e.g. ‘Praeter in te’ leads into bar 24 from bar 23, the first ‘Qui irasceris’ entries are buried inside the end of the first 40-part tutti (end of bar 44), etc:

Text Vocal scores

Spem in alium

p.1-2 b 1,13

Conductor’s score Proportional markers

p.1-2 b 1,13

Praeter in te p.3 b 24 p.3 b 24

Praeter in te (tutti) p.4-5 b 36,42 p.4 b 36

Bars 1-23 (1/6 of the motet)

Bars 24-35 (1/6 to 1/4)

Bars 36-46 (1/4 to 1/3) Qui irasceris p.6-7 b 47,58 p.5-6 b 47,58

Et omnia…dimittis p.8-11 b 69,73,77,85 p.7-8 b 69,77

Domine Deus…Respice 1 p.12-15 b.88,94,100,105 p.9-10

b.88,100

Bars 47 onwards (1/3 – 1/2)

Bars 69-87 (1/2 – 5/8)

Bars 88-110 (from 5/8 – worth 1/6) …humilitatem (first time) p.16 b.111 p.11

Respice 2 (second time) p.17-20 b.122,126,130,134 p.12-13

b.111

b.122,130

Bars 122-138 (final 1/8 of motet)

Spem in alium consists of 138 4-beat bars; however, Egerton 3512 also makes reference to ‘super-bars’ each worth 8 beats of which there are 69. Using the table below, 69 is the numerical value of T-A-L-L-I-S in the Latin number alphabet where A = 1, B = 2, etc: T + A + L + L + I + S = 19 + 1 + 11 + 11 + 9 + 18 = 69

There are well-known instances of names having been hidden in poems in the Tudor era (acrosticism); Tallis is perhaps doing the same with his own name in Spem in alium. While further research continues into the uncovering of more ‘acrostic’ significance within Tallis’s motet, this edition focuses for now on proportional significance and structural magnificence. This revised Performers Edition has been made especially for Nigel Short to support his forward-looking ideas for maximising the full potential of performance spaces with his fabulous choir Tenebrae.

Peter Gritton, April 2024 www.petergritton.com

Permission given by British Library for use by Peter Gritton in this Performers Edition of Spem in alium

This is the central section of the first of 12 large rectangular pages that constitute the earliest source of the contrafactum of Spem in alium, known as Sing and glorify (see Editor’s notes earlier). On this page one can see the bar- count (1 to 12) and the super-bar count (1 to 6) which is referenced in the Editor’s notes. Notice how the paper is actually two pieces of paper stuck together in order to cater for Tallis’s super-sized forces. We are so fortunate that the scribe of Sing and glorify wrote what is believed to be the original Latin text in full, just above the Thorough Bass line, below which is the complete, new and unrelated English text. The two texts match each other by way of number of syllables, hence we are able to reconstruct the original Latin text set by Tallis. The scribe of Sing and glorify decided to group the vocal parts within voice-range. What you see in this section are the eight tenor parts: Parts 3, 8, 13, 18 are above the Thorough Bass and Parts 23, 28, 33, and 38 are below it. It did not take long for scholars to work out that the part numbers were more helpful than the part layout above in order to work out how Tallis wished to group his performers (see Editor’s notes for suggested layout of forces).

Here is the original Latin text with a prose translation, and a syllable count (in brackets) to show the correlation with the contrafactum Sing and Glorify:

Spem in alium nunquam habui (10) Praeter in te Deus Israel (9)

I have never placed hope in anyone but you, God of Israel, Qui irasceris et propitius eris (12) Et omnia peccata hominum (10) In tribulatione dimittis (10)

Who can show both anger and graciousness and can dispel all our sins in suBering.

Domine Deus Creator caeli et terrae (13)

Lord God, Creator of heaven and earth, Respice humilitatem nostram (10) look upon our humility.

Sing and glorify heaven's high Majesty (10) Author of this blessèd harmony (9)

Sound divine praises with melodious graces (12) This is the day, holy day, happy day (10) For ever give it greeting, love and joy (10) heart and voice meeting, princely and mighty (13) in thy creation happy (10)

Front cover: Panoramic view of the whole of Spem in alium (top), some internal proportional measurements (bottom)