Final cadences impress in a marvellous evening of a capella entertainment

Being a composer in the turbulent economic, social, political and eccleciastical days of the 15th and 16th centuries wasn’t easy.

Towing the line was necessary but composers like William Byrd would persevere against all odds and deliver music that stands alone in today’s repertoire.

The mood is sombre, dictated to by the litanies used but Byrd could add colour to a blank canvas and raise the music to hugely entertaining heights.

Thus the concert by the Tallis Scholars on Friday in the Bowhouse, St Monans, attracted such a huge audience.

Works by Byrd and Josquin des Prez dominated, with Robert Carver adding a postscript. Anyone who had heard Peter Phillips’ ensemble wouldn’t have been surprised with the quality that emanated forth. Those new to this phenomenon could only sit in baffled wonder.

Magnificent phrasing and balance apart, it’s the final cadences that really impress, a lingering final vowel or consonant that drifts into the night.

Between Byrd and De Prez, there is a marked difference in content.

De Prez isn’t exactly monotonic, as his polyphony is as good as any other man, but there is a lack of variety in colour and sound.

Maybe this genre of music evolved between his time and Byrd’s, as the latter adds differences in tempi and volume. Also, his Mass for Five Voices dictates more movement, more expression.

The texts of De Prez’s works are darker, more forbidding and even Carver’s Gloria didn’t lift proceedings.

Phillips altered the stage setting for this piece, which had an effect on the balance and that was was a pity, but not enough to detract from a marvellous evening of a capella music.