Salvator mundi
by Thomas Tallis
A Cappella - Sheet Music

SATBB choir, a cappella

SKU: C5.7100

Composed by Thomas Tallis. Edited by John Kenney. Renaissance treasure. Lent. Octavo. Published by CanticaNOVA Publications (C5.7100).

This motet is part of our Treasury of Sacred Music Series, a collection of choral gems about which Vatican Council II was speaking in Sacrosanctam concilium: "The treasury of sacred music is to be preserved and cultivated with great care." Thomas Tallis (1505-1585) was influential in advancing English Renaissance music up to levels found on the Continent, exemplified there by such composers as Palestrina and di Lasso. Salvator mundi shows Tallis' ability to combine Continental techniques such as points of imitation with English techniques such as simultaneous cross relations. The latter gives this motet an appropriate "piquancy," as dissonant intervals are exploited for expressive purposes. Appropriate for Lent or Passiontide, Salvator mundi uses a traditional text that translates: "O Savior of the world, save us, thou who hast redeemed us by thy cross and blood; help us, we beseech thee, our God.".