Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis, known as the Tallis Fantasia, a/k/a the Tallis Fantasia, is one of the most beautiful, peaceful, gorgeous, (other good words...), piece of music I have ever heard. Notice, I said "one of". This morning, before I came to work, I heard it on the radio program "Performance Today". If you have 18 minutes to kill, listen to the above rendition. This was composed by Ralph Vaughn Williams, an English composer who, had he lived, would have been 101 years old. He composed it in 1910 and it was one of his first successes. The work takes its name from the original composer of the melody, Thomas Tallis, who lived from 1540 to 1623. Go ahead and listen to it while you read the paper or do something else online. Better yet, turn your computer speakers up a bit and just relax.

If you have another 8 minutes or so, you can hear the tune that Tallis wrote that inspired the Fantasia. Tallis wrote it for the first Archbishop of Cantebury for voices. It was written in in 1567. The words: "Why fum'th in fight the Gentiles spite, in fury raging stout?
Why tak'th in hand the people fond, vain things to bring about?The Kings arise, the Lords devise, in counsels met thereto,against the Lord with false accord, against His Christ they go." It is from the second Psalm.

One English composer who deserves to better known is Thomas Tallis who in his lifetime was a reknowned composer of sacred choral music. Tallis remained a Catholic at time of considerable religious upheaval in the British Isles, and the fact that he was able to continue to write for both the Catholic and Anglican churches illustrates the esteem in which he was held. Aside from his association with Vaughan Williams across time, Tallis is probably best known today as the composer of Spem In Alium, an astonishingly beautiful motet for 40 voices. But that is for another post. Here is the theme that inspired Ralph Vaughn Williams: