Program:
Brumel/Missa Et ecce terrae motus (Earthquake Mass)
David Lang/sun-centered (Cal Performances Co-commission)
In a program that builds a bridge between the 15th and 21st centuries, the Tallis Scholars pair a masterwork of Renaissance polyphony with a new composition by composer David Lang. Antoine Brumel’s colossal Earthquake Mass, scored for 12 voices, has been the hallmark of this ensemble’s performances for decades. Lang, who is co-founder and co-artistic director of the new-music collective Bang on a Can, has composed dozens of award-winning works for choir and voice, from chamber works to oratorios to opera—and received the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for another a cappella work, The Little Match Girl Passion. His sun-centered is a response to Brumel’s mass, inspired by Galileo’s pursuit of truth, the nature of human curiosity, and the perils of suppressing it.
