Allegri Ensemble: From the Chapel

This program explores music where utter clarity of the text is (or has become) a priority, as well as the double meaning of the concert title ‘From The Chapel’. The frame of the concert comes in a complete performance of Palestrina’s Missa Papae Marcelli, which was sung in *the* chapel – the Sistine Chapel. The Mass is famous for the way Palestina combines complex polyphonic lines with clear communication of the liturgical text (something of a theological issue at the time).

The same can be said of Josquin’s sublime "Ave Maria" – very complex writing that sounds so very clear and simple. The remaining music in the program reflects the other sense of ‘from the chapel’ – literally, ‘a cappella’. Here too clear communication is a feature, albeit by different means. Rather than polyphony complexity, these pieces present their texts as always sung at the same time by all parts.

Chant is a linking feature here: "Ubi Caritas" by Duruflé and Ave Maris Stella by or own Jonathan Wallis both rework Gregorian melodies, while Tavener’s mesmerising "Funeral Ikos" is built of cumulative simple chant-like fragments. The elegant simplicity of Duruflé's "Notre Père" (The Lord's Prayer) rounds out the concert.