Miller Theatre at Columbia School of the Arts Presents MASTERPIECES FOR DOUBLE CHOIR Tonight

The Miller Theatre's Early Music series' 2012-2013 season opens with Masterpieces for Double Choir tonight, December 1 at 8PM at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin.

Miller darlings The Tallis Scholars, directed by Peter Phillips, return with a program framed by two brilliant double choir settings of the Magnificat—one Spanish, the other German. A highlight of the program is Lassus’ unforgettable setting of Osculetur me, an evocative and at-times erotic text taken from the Song of Songs. Additional works by Tallis, Praetorius, and Pärt take the listener from the chromatic harmony and disjointed rhythms of the late Renaissance to the excitement of the early Baroque era.

The program features
Vivanco: Magnificat Octavi Toni
Lassus: Osculetur me
Lassus: Missa Osculetur me
Pärt: Triodion
Pärt: The woman with the alabaster box
H. Praetorius: Magnificat V
H. Praetorius: Joseph lieber
H. Praetorius: In dulci jubilo

The Church of St. Mary the Virgin is located at 145 W 46th Street.

Tickets range from $40 to $45 for the general public. Columbia Students with ID can purchase tickets for $7. All other students can purchase tickets from $24 to $27 with valid ID. To purchase tickets online, visit www.millertheatre.com. Tickets can also be purchased Monday-Friday from 12-6 PM either in person (116th Street and Broadway on the ground floor of Dodge Hall) or by calling 212-854-7799.

The Tallis Scholars perform in both sacred and secular venues. Previous locations include the Sistine Chapel to mark the final stage of the complete restoration of the Michelangelo frescoes; Ferrara, Italy (at the invitation of Claudio Abbado); and London for a unique 25th Anniversary concert in London's National Gallery. Other UK venues include Symphony Hall, Bridgewater Hall, Wigmore Hall, London’s South Bank Centre, and the Royal Albert Hall. They have also toured in Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, France, the United States, Japan, China, Australia, and Singapore. Festival appearances include the Salzburg Festival, Bath Festival, Milan Cathedral Festival, and at the BBC Proms in London. Much of The Tallis Scholars’s reputation for pioneering work has come from their association with Gimell Records, set up by Peter Phillips and Steve Smith in 1981 solely to record them.

Peter Phillips founded The Tallis Scholars in 1973. Besides his work with Tallis, Phillips has for many years contributed a column to The Spectator. In 1995 he became the advisory editor of The Musical Times, the oldest continuously published music journal in Europe. His first book, English Sacred Music 1549–1649, is an account of the history of English-texted sacred music written during the golden period between the Reformation and The Commonwealth. In 1997 he visited Japan as the adjudicator of a choral festival in Tokyo and has worked in Italy and the United States with groups specializing in the polyphonic repertoirE. Phillips has made numerous television and radio broadcasts. Besides those featuring The Tallis Scholars, he has appeared on Music Weekly, BBC World Service, Today, and on European, Canadian, and North American radio. Phillips is also the director of the Oakham International Summer School, a choral course set up to keep alive the English choral heritage and develop excellence in unaccompanied choral singing.

Photo Credit: Eric Richmond

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