The Last Settings

Josquin des Prez, the leading composer of the early Renaissance in Europe, died on August 27, 1521. To commemorate the 500th anniversary of the composer’s death and to close the season, the Tallis Scholars and their music director Peter Phillips, acclaimed around the world for their standard-setting performances of Josquin’s works, bring an extraordinary project to the Pierre Boulez Saal: Over the course of four days, they will perform Josquin’s complete masses in what will be the ensemble’s first-ever cyclical presentation of these works.

The chronological order in which Josquin wrote these 18 settings remains a matter of musicological debate and research—a definitive verdict seems unlikely. Yet many of their musical traits suggest that the Missa Mater patris and the famous Missa Pange lingua were the two last masses Josquin composed before his death in 1521: both works share the lucidity and elegant simplicity so characteristic for the late Josquin. The Tallis Scholars and Peter Phillips close their concert series with these two masterpieces.

Due to continuing Corona-related travel restrictions, the concerts with The Tallis Scholars and Peter Phillips cannot take place this season and have to be postponed. The “Josquin 500” project is now expected to take place from July 13 to 16, 2022.