From Dusk till Dawn

EVENT DESCRIPTION

Hong Kong’s first ever Renaissance vocal ensemble, Tallis Vocalis, returns to stage after a 4-year hiatus with a captivating choral journey charting through the dark of night towards the light at sunrise.

The first half of this eclectic programme includes renaissance works usually sung at Compline (Christian service of evening prayer), and three contemporary pieces by female composers: Joanna Marsh, Anna Thorvaldsdottir, and Vanissa Law, whose newly commissioned work for Tallis Vocalis is based on a poem by Emily Dickinson and scored for chorus and electronics.

Works on the theme of morning and light complete the programme featuring Renaissance greats such as Byrd and Victoria, and eminent contemporary masters including Pärt and MacMillan. Ligeti’s twin vocal works, Éjszaka (Night) and Reggel (Morning), make for the perfect bookends to the concert.

Graham Ross, Director of Music at Clare College, Cambridge, conducts Tallis Vocalis.

ABOUT THE ARTIST / ORGANISER

Tallis Vocalis is Hong Kong’s first vocal ensemble dedicated to the performance of early and Renaissance music. Founded in 2013 by local choral enthusiast Raymond Choi, the ensemble gathers 20 of the territory’s leading choral singers. The group’s repertoire focuses on the great Renaissance polyphony of the 15th and 16th centuries, with the occasional foray into early Baroque and contemporary music. The ensemble presented its inaugural concert in November 2014 with British conductor Andrew Griffiths in a programme of English Renaissance music. Since then they have collaborated with British conductors Christopher Watson in 2015, Geoffrey Webber in 2016 and Edward Wickham in 2017 as part of Le French May festival. In October 2017 they worked with Peter Phillips, director of the world-renowned Tallis Scholars. In 2018 they jointly-presented Grammy-nominated early music vocal ensemble Stile Antico in Hong Kong, with Premiere Performances of Hong Kong.