Thomas Tallis Overview

Thomas Tallis (c. 1505 – 23 November 1585) was an English composer. Tallis flourished as a church musician in 16th century England. He occupies a primary place in anthologies of English church music, and is considered among the best of England's early composers. He... [more]

Thomas Tallis (c. 1505 – 23 November 1585) was an English composer. Tallis flourished as a church musician in 16th century England. He occupies a primary place in anthologies of English church music, and is considered among the best of England's early composers. He is honoured for his original voice in English musicianship.^[1] No contemporary portrait of Tallis survives: the earliest, painted by Gerard van der Gucht, dates from 150 years after Tallis died, and there is no certainty that it is a likeness.^[2]

 

Early years

Little is known about Tallis's early life, but there seems to be agreement that he was born in the early 16th century, toward the close of the reign of Henry VII.^[3] His first known appointment to a musical position was as organist of Dover Priory in 1530-31, a Benedictine priory at Dover (now Dover College) in 1532.^[4] His career took him to London, then (probably in the autumn of 1538) to the Augustinian abbey of Holy Cross atWaltham until the abbey was dissolved in 1540. Tallis acquired a volume at the dissolution of the monastery of Waltham Holy Cross and preserved it; one of the treatises in it was by Leonel Power, and the treatise itself prohibits consecutive unisons, fifths, and octaves.^[5]

Tallis's next post was at Canterbury Cathedral. He was next sent to Court as Gentleman of the Chapel Royal in 1543 (which later became a Protestant establishment^[6]), where he composed and performed for Henry VIII,^[7] Edward VI (1547-1553), Queen Mary (1553-1558), and Queen Elizabeth I (1558 until Tallis died in 1585).^[8] Throughout his service to successive monarchs as organist and composer, Tallis avoided the religious controversies that raged around him, though, like William Byrd, he stayed an "unreformed Roman Catholic."^[9] Tallis was capable of switching the style of his compositions to suit the different monarchs' vastly different demands.^[10] Among other important composers of the time, including Christopher Tye and Robert White, Tallis stood out. Walker observes, "He had more versatility of style than either, and his general handling of his material was more consistently easy and certain."^[11] Tallis was also a teacher, not only of William Byrd, but also of Elway Bevin, an organist of Bristol Cathedral and gentleman of the Chapel Royal.^[12]

Tallis married around 1552; his wife, Joan, outlived him by four years. They apparently had no children. Late in his life he lived in Greenwich, possibly close to the royal palace: a local tradition holds that he lived on Stockwell Street.^[13]

[edit]Work with William Byrd

Queen Mary granted Tallis a lease on a manor in Kent that provided a comfortable annual income.^[14] In 1575, and Queen Elizabeth granted to him and William Byrd a twenty-one year monopoly for polyphonic music^[15] and a patent to print and publish music, which was one of the first arrangements of that type in the country.^[16] Tallis' monopoly covered 'set songe or songes in parts', and he composed in English, Latin, French, Italian, or other tongues as long as they served for music in the Church or chamber.^[17] Tallis had exclusive rights to print any music, in any language. He and William Byrd were the only ones allowed to use the paper that was used in printing music. Tallis and Byrd used their monopoly to produce Cantiones quae ab argumento sacrae vocantur but the piece did not sell well and they appealed to Queen Elizabeth for her support.^[18] People were naturally wary of their new publications, and it certainly did not help their case that they were both unrepentant Catholics in a staunchly Protestant land.^[19] Not only that, they were strictly forbidden to sell any imported music. "We straightly by the same forbid...to be brought out of any forren Realmes...any songe or songes made and printed in any foreen countrie." Also, Byrd and Tallis were not given "the rights to music type fonts, printing patents were not under their command, and they didn't actually own a printing press."^[20]

Tallis retained respect during a succession of opposing religious movements and deflected the violence that claimed Catholics and Protestants alike.^[21]

[edit]Death

Thomas Tallis died peacefully in his house in Greenwich in November 1585. Most historians agree that he died on the twenty-third.^[22] He was buried in the chancel of the parish of St Alfege's Church.^[23] The chancel was torn down in 1720, and none of the memorials remain. Strype claims to have found a brass plate with an engraving on it, which reads:

Byrd wrote the musical elegy Ye Sacred Muses on Tallis's death.

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