Tallis Scholars 'firsts among [Trinity] equals'
Friday 2 February 2007
Taking to the stage of Hamer Hall
in the Arts Centre, to perform with the touring UK-based Tallis
Scholars – tagged by the NY Times as ‘the rock stars of Renaissance
music’– was an exciting and challenging experience for 30 current and
former Trinity choristers. The performance
was also broadcast live on ABC Classic FM radio.
A trio of Peters who performed in The Tallis Scholars concert, L to R: Trinity Senior Choral Scholar, Dr Peter Campbell, Trinity Dean and conductor, Dr Peter Tregear, and founding conductor of The Tallis Scholars, Mr Peter Phillips.
But such an opportunity also carries with it some risk. It takes courage and self-belief for a part-time choir to expose itself to inevitable direct comparison with the world’s leading professionals in this genre – even more so during a period of recess for the Choir and with its regular Director, Michael Leighton Jones, overseas.
Nevertheless, it seems that in tackling this challenge the Trinity choristers, conducted by the Dean of the College Dr Peter Tregear, did plenty to impress the audience and enhance the Choir’s reputation.
Peter Burch, music critic for The Australian, wrote in the 6 February 2007 edition:
Spem in alium remains one of the luminous landmarks of Renaissance composition and it was revealed in all its splendour at Friday's concert. The 10 Tallis Scholars were joined by 30 choristers drawn from present and former members of the choir of Trinity College, Melbourne.
The combined ensemble skilfully negotiated Tallis's intricate motet, with glorious singing from the eight five-part choirs and with the Tallis Scholars performing as firsts among equals. Spem in alium was sung before interval, and again at the end of the concert. There was a brief moment of hesitation within the first performance, followed by a flawless second hearing.
And:
In the first half, singers from the choir of Trinity College, excellently prepared by Peter Tregear, sang Anton Bruckner's Locus Iste and Os Justi (in a particularly moving performance), a sparkling reading of Gerald Finzi's My spirit sang all day and Maurice Durufle's Tota pulchra es Maria, Tu es Petrus and Tantum Ergo.
The founder and conductor of The Tallis Scholars, Peter Phillips, also affirmed the Trinity Choir’s abilities following its combined rehearsal with the tourists. In his radio interview on ABC 774 Melbourne on the morning of the concert, host Jon Faine expressed surprise that only a single rehearsal was required with the Trinity choristers. Phillips immediately dismissed the need for any more with a ringing endorsement of the locals: ‘Oh, they can sing!’ he replied.