The Tallis Scholars celebrate Arvo Part's 80th birthday

This year, Arvo Part is 80 on 11 September 2015 and so we might expect quite a number of celebrations. Peter Phillips and The Tallis Scholars seem to be kicking off the celebrations with a new recording and world tour. The group's recording includes Part's Sieben Magnificat-Antiphonen, Magnificat, Nunc Dimittis, Which Was the Son Of..., The Woman in the Alabaster Box, Tribute to Caesar, I Am the True Vine and Triodion. The album, Tintinnabuli, will be released on 2 March 2015 on Gimell Records. 

The Tallis Scholars have sung Arvo Part's music alongside their more familiar Renaissance polyphony in recent years, but this is their first album of contemporary music since their 1984 recording of Sir John Tavener's Ikon of Light. The disc promises a new aural perspective on some of Part's works as the group performs the music with just two singers to a part, as with Renaissance polyphony. Peter Phillips believes that this approach brings both clarity and intimacy to Arvo Part's music.

Peter Phillips and The Tallis Scholars will be performing Arvo Part's music on a 10 country tour in over 45 concerts.