THE FESTIVAL PROGRAMME

Day 3

Sunday 22 October

Travel by coach to Essex, and stop for lunch before continuing to Waltham Abbey.

Concert, 2.30pm

Waltham Abbey, Essex

Tallis Loquebantur variis linguis ; Tallis Miserere ; Purcell Miserere ; Allegri Miserere ; Pärt Virgencita ; Tallis Missa Puer natus

We end the Trail with some favourites, both by Tallis and others. Allegri’s Miserere needs no introduction. Tallis’s and Purcell’s Misereres are fascinating miniatures, built on mathematical lines. Part’s Virgencita deserves its place alongside such masterpieces from the past. But we leave Tallis with one of his greatest works – the Missa Puer natus – music of innate sonority and tireless detail. Was 7-voice polyphony ever more thrilling?

Thomas Tallis was a singer and possibly an organist at Waltham Abbey from 1538 until its dissolution in 1540 (it was the last monastery to be dissolved under Henry VIII). It had been one of the largest abbeys in the country but most of the buildings were soon demolished – except for the splendid Norman nave, which became the parish church.

Having been founded by St Augustine in ad 597, Canterbury Cathedral has claims to be the oldest organisation in the Englishspeaking world. It was rebuilt shortly after the Norman Conquest, and the eastern parts were further rebuilt and extended a century later – the first major construction in England in the Gothic style.

Coaches drive towards central London immediately after the concert, dropping off at Kings Cross station by 5.30pm.

Illustration:

Canterbury, cathedral, wood engraving c. 1880.