Missa O bone Jesu
Religious music of the 15th century
Robert Fayrfax (1464-1521) was a constant presence in the musical life of the English Renaissance. He was one of the most prolific composers at the court of Henry VIII and associated with the Chapel Royal. This closing Voices of Passion concert focuses on his expressive five-part Missa O bone Jesu.
The only surviving manuscript of this magnificent composition on the continent is in the University Library of Jena, Germany. It takes us back to the production of music manuscripts in the Netherlands in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. The parchment manuscript, with its beautiful illuminations, borders and initials, belongs to the corpus produced under the direction of the music calligrapher Petrus Alamire.
The title O bone Jesu refers to the motet, also composed by him, on which it is based. The so-called parody, in which the mass parts are based on a pre-existing - i.e. older - work, would become one of the most important musical techniques of the sixteenth century.
The Tallis Scholars complement this monumental mass, whose long lines tend towards the older sound world of the fifteenth century, with motets by Franco-Flemish composers of the previous generation, to create a musical landscape that brings to life the founding of the university, the decades that followed, and the transition to a new century.
With music by Robert Fayrfax and 15th-century composers from the Low Countries.
More info
artistic director Peter Phillips with The Tallis Scholars (10 vocalists) photo Hugo Glendinning
Ticket prices
€ 22 - check our reductions
