Peter Phillips and The Tallis Scholars celebrated Palestrina's 400th anniversary with a unique concert in the Roman Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore where the composer sang as a choirboy and later became maestro di cappella. The concert was filmed for release on Video and has now been re-edited especially for this DVD release. There are 2 presentations of the same concert, an illustrated performance featuring the priceless artworks in the Basilica which are used to illuminate the sung texts, and a pure performance that is 100% Tallis Scholars. Optional captions name the artworks and describe the context in which they are used and sub-titles provide translations of the sung Latin into English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Japanese. The concert includes a performance of Palestrina's Missa Papae Marcelli together with the Stabat mater, Alma redemptoris mater, Surge illuminaire, Magnificat Primi toni and the 8-part Nunc dimittis. There is also a stunning performance of Allegri's Miserere with Deborah Roberts as the soprano soloist |
