Thomas Tallis (c. 1505 – 1585):
LAMENTATIONS OF JEREMIAH I
Thomas Tallis was an English organist and composer whose career spanned the reigns of four monarchs and a long period of religious change. He occupies a primary place in anthologies of English church music, and is considered among the most talented of England’s early composers.
This is part one of his ‘lamentations of Jeremiah’, which sets to music verses 1-2 of Chapter 1 (Book of Lamentations).
0:06 Incipit lamentatio etc
1:13 Aleph. Quomodo sedet etc
3:24 Beth. Plorans ploravit etc
6:09 Ierusalem, convertere etc
Incipit lamentatio Ieremiae prophetae.
ALEPH. Quomodo sedet sola civitas plena populo! Facta est quasi vidua domina gentium; princeps provinciarum facta est sub tributo.
BETH. Plorans ploravit in nocte, et lacrimæ ejus in maxillis ejus: non est qui consoletur eam, ex omnibus caris ejus; omnes amici ejus spreverunt eam, et facti sunt ei inimici.
Ierusalem, convertere ad Dominum Deum tuum.
(Book of Lamentations 1:1-2)
Here begins the lamentation of Jeremiah the prophet.
A. How lonely sits the city that was full of people! How like a widow has she become, she that was great among the nations! She that was a princess among the cities has become a vassal.
B. She weeps bitterly in the night, tears on her cheeks; among all her lovers she has none to comfort her; all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they have become her enemies.
Jerusalem, turn again to the Lord your God.
Link to part two of ‘Lamentations of Jeremiah’:
The Sixteen Choir
Conducted by Harry Christophers
source
My God…this music, and now imagine a man who saw everything he loved, respected, considered holy, destroyed, turned to rubble. That is what Jeremiah was looking at, that is what the lamentations are describing. Sometimes I wonder…are we heading to the same situation.
Sublime!!!!quem pode dar deslike nessa magnitude????
0:32 PARALLEL FIFTHS! Clearly Tallis has no musical training. Does he not know that parallel fifths are the devil? How does he expect to sound like Bach if he uses parallel fifths? And if he doesn't intend to sound like Bach then how does he intent to write counterpoint?
Least favourite composer of all time 😉
Stop saying things I don't understand. Everything you are saying here is midnight to me!!! Just kidding. I love it. As simple as I am. Love you guys.
One word:Â SUBLIME!
I will never forget this piece. My mother and I were driving in the night; it was Christmas. Moving from Minneapolis to Seattle over the holidays. Those eerie voices rising in the cab of the truck, in the night. I think I had the Deller Consort cd. An unforgettable experience.
Tallis, Palestrina, and Vittoria – the three purest and greatest.
Impossible to describe feelings with words.
what's with the cadence at 4:34–4:35 ? sounds like both a major and minor third in the C to F.
a good piece in deed keep up
Absolutely a masterwork!!!Thanks for sharing!!!
There is so much depth of feeling in this piece. It is charged with emotion.
Seems like this sound clip in a different key than the projected score.
Nice…but drives one wild that the pitch is a m3 higher than what is written!
Tallis uses false relation so incredibly well.
How appropriate; given the shape America is in right now, all one can do is lament.
I have performed this a couple of times (soprano), and the Ierusalem parts are SO satisfying and beautiful
Happy Maundy Thursday !
I tracked this down to help put me in a better frame of mind after a day of much irritation. It transported me to a place of transcendent serenity, for which many thanks to you (and of course HC and TT).
anyone care to explain why the notes heard and the notes written are different? is the score transposed?
The overtone at 0:47 😮 Could have sworn there was a soprano in there.
There's a difference between the sung version and notes on bar 44 at 2:10. Tenors II doesn't sing c# as written. Anyway, it's still a pleasure to hear them singin' Tallis.
gracias por estas publicaciones. Soy un fanático de este compositor. Desde La Pampa, Argentina, te mando un fuerte abrazo
I always wondered why Tallis set the Hebrew letters. Yeah, they double as numbers of the verses but it seems out of proportion to their significance, until… I just read that the book of Lamentations is an acrostic such that each verse begins with the consecutive letter of the alphabet, albeit in Hebrew. So an English equivalent could be something like:
"Ah, how lonely…!;
Bitterly she weeps…;
'Cuz she has suffered…;
Dogging her footsteps, she is persued…;
Enemies lord over her…"
Of course, the refrain, "Jerusalem" by Tallis upsets this scheme, but is beautiful nonetheless. Anyway, would Tallis have known the added importance of the numbering system of Jeremiah? Enjoy!
Et magnifique ouverture du Beth
Magnifique "aleph"
wow. this is beautiful
This is an incredible piece
I went to a wedding, though only the night time. I didn't know them that well…
One of the sublime aspects of this piece is the exquisite motets on just a letter of the aleph-beth. My favorite is Gimel in part II. Bliss.
What a magnificent piece of medieval music. I heard it for the first time in my life on the 31st of January 2016 in Västerås Cathedral. It even equals Allegris famous "Misereri" if you ask me. A must have on CD for every lover of church music!
Love this piece so much. Is this the hilliard ensemble? Because the Dehler Ensemble takes it much, much slower which I dont like. I need a recording at THIS SPEED!
3:24 – 3:50 : I have the feeling that the heaven opens …
… He was a good friend of mine.
I never understood a single word he said,
But I helped him drink his wine.
Thomas Tallis
( Greenwich 1505-1585 Londres )
LAMENTATIONS OF JEREMIAH Eternel grandiose une pure qui bous emportes sur une autre terre merci YouTube .
…Jerusalem, Jerusalem, return unto the Lord thy God..
It's wonderful…
Molto bello, grazie!
0.25 to 0:34 on a loop please.