Five-part Litany (Thomas Tallis): Hereford Cathedral 1986 (Roy Massey)

From a live BBC radio broadcast of the Litany & Ante-Communion for Good Friday from Hereford Cathedral, 28 March 1986, with the choir of Hereford Cathedral, directed by Roy Massey.
“The earliest documented polyphonic settings of a liturgical text in the English vernacular were a small group of unidentified Litanies, one of which, stated to have been for five voices, was published on 26 June 1544. Not one printed copy of that Litany is now known to be extant, the records of its issue have received but patchy notice in the historiography of English Reformation music, and beyond the odd passing reference no attention has been given to the all-too-obvious possibility that the setting contained in the lost print was none other than the celebrated five-part Litany by Thomas Tallis.” [A Johnstone www.sparrho.com/item/thomas-t...]
The text can be seen at www.churchofengland.org/praye..., bearing in mind that the Prayer Book has changed since this recording was made, on account of the deaths of certain members of the Royal Family.

[@hudsonbailey674]

Otherworldly indeed. Splendid is the harmony.

[@jonathanthompson4734]

The traffic in the background add to it rather well. The world goes on by as time stands still within the church.

[@joshuag.4873]

Beautifully said…

[@jonathanthompson4734]

Would love to have this on Spotify. There's only a different version which doesn't have quite the same ring