Spem in alium
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Spem in alium is a 40-part Renaissance motet by Thomas Tallis, composed in c. 1570 for eight choirs of five voices each. It is considered by some critics to be the greatest piece of English early music. H. B. Collins described it in 1929 as Tallis's "crowning achievement", along with his Lamentations.
Composer Thomas Tallis
The obscure origins of "Spem in alium" are strongly linked with the former Nonsuch Palace in Surrey
According to some accounts, Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk commissioned the motet from Tallis.
Janet Cardiff's art installation, Forty Part Motet (2001) in the ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum, Denmark
Peter McGarr
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Peter McGarr is an English classical composer and teacher, working in the English experimental tradition and inspired by Northern English landscape and culture.
40 part motet, Lindisfarne Lovesong, climax point
Saddleworth Moor Song, first page
'Eight Views of Farne', from 'Homesongs'