Surrender to the sound of the Herd

When I was a boy, I spent a lot of my time singing in choirs – in school concert halls, in churches, cathedrals and all over. While it’s not very rock n roll, mixing your voice with those of others gives you a particular buzz. 2-3 voices in harmony are great but more is extraordinary. All very transcendant.

One of the composers I most loved – and still do – is Thomas Tallis (see pic), the acknowledged Father of English Church music. His unaccompanied anthems and motets just make me quiver, both inside and out. They bring something of the calm and the serenity of damp, echoing medieval cathedral to mind whilst being fully and immediately human and connected.

None more so than his masterpiece Spem in Alium, for 8 choirs of 5 voices (that’s 40 musical lines). Go here to download (I think) or here to buy.

Wallowing in the sound of all those human voices with their different and overlapping melodic lines is the perfect metaphor for the authentic experience of our HERD nature. Go on, surrender yourself…