The Tallis Scholars were founded in 1973 by their director, Peter Phillips. The Ensemble have established a worldwide reputation through their recordings and performances of Renaissance sacred music. Peter Phillips has worked with the Tallis Scholars to develop the pure and clear sound that he considers essential for Renaissance repertoire and which allows every detail of the musical lines to be heard. This sound has made the ensemble widely renowned.
The Tallis Scholars perform in both sacred and secular venues, and give around eighty concerts worldwide each year. In 2013 the Ensemble celebrated their 40th anniversary with a world tour, giving 99 performances in 80 venues in 16 countries; they are now making plans for their 50th anniversary in 2023. Prior to the beginning of the pandemic, the Tallis Scholars had given 2,327 performances around the world.
Alongside their return to the Salzburg Festival, highlights of the 2021/22 season have included performances in Amsterdam, Vienna, Paris and Bremen, two Italian tours, several concerts in London, and tours to the USA, Europe and around the United Kingdom. Recently the Tallis Scholars performed all 18 masses by Josquin Desprez over the course of four days. This project, which took place in Berlin’s Pierre Boulez Saal, was part of the postponed celebrations of the 500th anniversary of the composer’s death.
The Tallis Scholars’ recordings have won numerous international prizes. Their recording of Josquin’s Missa La sol fa re mi and Missa Pangue lingua was voted Recording of the Year by the music magazine Gramophone – the first recording of early music to win this award. In 2012 their recording of Josquin’s Missa de Beata Virgine and Missa Ave maris stella received the Diapason d’Or de l’Année. Their most recent CD recording, of Josquin’s masses Hercules Dux Ferrarie, D’ung aultre amer and Faysant regretz received the BBC Music Magazine Recording of the Year Award in 2021 and won the 2021 Gramophone Early Music Award. This is the last of a series of nine albums in a project to record and release all Josquin’s masses prior to the 500th anniversary of the composer’s death in 2021.
In their 40th year, the Tallis Scholars were welcomed into Gramophone Magazine’s Hall of Fame by public vote. The ensemble was nominated for Grammy Awards in 2001, 2009 and 2010.
