| 25949 | Mick Swithinbank | | 2013-12-12 | 2013-12-12 | Reduction from 40 voices to {{Cat|11-part choral music|11}} ({{Cat|SSSAATTBBBB|SSSAATTBarBarBB}}) by Mick Swithinbank. The 11-part arrangement of Spem in alium is intended for use by anyone who does not happen to have eight 5-part choirs to hand, for the enjoyment of singers and to give them an overview of the work. When the full score is sung, only the audience can hear what is going on: the singers cannot. The full complement of voices, such as it is, is used only in the few places where Tallis used his full 40. It is recommended that the singers stand as indicated at the bottom of page 1 in order to gain the benefit of antiphonal effects. The numerous dissonances in the score may sound harsher in this arrangement, because there are fewer other competing voices, and can be attenuated by singing one of the notes involved more softly if the performers so wish. I would be interested to receive any feedback from singers. Sectional scores are available by e-mail upon request. (MickSwithinbank at gmail.com). As from September 2019, a similar arrangement of the work that is commonly thought to have inspired Tallis - Striggio's Ecce beatam lucem - is also available on cpdl. However, recent research by Hugh Keyte (2021) - see link supplied with his score of Spem in alium - suggests that Spem was prompted not by the Striggio motet itself but by the Mass that Striggio himself based on it, scored for 40 voices, and for 60 in the Agnus Dei. [Midi file added 2/10/2019] | | | | 14259 | Spem in alium (Thomas Tallis) | Spem in alium | Thomas Tallis | | 2023-09-16 10:32:20 |