Obra: Missa Gloria tibi Trinitas – In nomine Domini: Benedictus

Part of the White Light Festival at Lincoln Center, The Tallis Scholars gave a selection of music that ranged from John Taverner to Nico Muhly.

“This is surely music at its most extreme, from any period,” wrote Peter Phillips, in a note explaining his “chalk and cheese” programme for The Tallis Scholars at the Proms on Wednesday night.

A competition for young composers run by the National Centre for Early Music may perhaps, at first glance, sound like a contradiction, but the winning pieces, performed tonight by the Tallis Scholars in Durham Cathedral, acknowledged the glories of early polyphonic choral music whilst conveying their composers’ own distinct musical ideas.