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The choir tackle an ambitious, if overly long programme of Advent-themed works with mixed results.

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.

The British vocal ensemble Stile Antico made an appearance in Cleveland on Friday evening, 11 October, at the Cathedral of St John the Evangelist, as part of their current American tour to perform a brilliant live rendition of their most recent album The Phoenix Rising.

“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.

Some of England’s greatest choral music dates from the period of political and religious upheaval during the late 15th to early 17th centuries, when composers were having to adapt to new monarchs and changes to the church service almost as frequently as they would have changed their shirts.

In my notes for this evening’s concert by Renaissance, a chamber choir founded by the young singer, conductor and composer Ben Rowarth, one word kept recurring – “thoughtful”. This was a programme that had been carefully put together, and which was performed without any unnecessary flashiness or attempts to impress.

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.

The Tallis Scholars enraptured a sold-out Alexander Hall at Richardson Auditorium in Princeton, living up to the high standards that audiences have set for the world-renowned ensemble. Their wide-ranging repertoire was reflected in Monday’s performance, which offered a mix of traditional pieces by composers such as Palestrina as well as contemporary works.