Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis (Part I)

[TheVaughan5]

From the "Land without Music" comes the finest music ever written - strange.

[ShoeiBoy]

The scale of the setting matched by the scale of the music

[TheVaughan5]

@ShoeiBoy I have made a study of Romanesque/Gothic cathedrals, outside of Europe they are of course of a later date, mainly 19th c, and can unequivocaly say that England has the finest in the world so it's fitting that this masterpiece should be performed in such a setting.

[avfcgoffy]

tallis/williams are good but its no justin bieber!

[RUSHFAN1A]

PlottingMax If you don't know what Iam trying to say then there is no use to get in a p contest with you.

[RUSHFAN1A]

This music is proof positive that there is a God.

[PlottingMax]

@RUSHFAN1A why is that?

[amadeus5889]

Know what? I like the reverb. It's a piece of music based on an English melody from Shakespeare's time, when these churches were the center of the spiritual universe for the masses of Elizabethan England. It's only fitting that such a decidedly gothic piece of music be played in a wholly gothic church like this cathedral.

[boof390]

magnificent performance do you know if this is avaailable to buy in its entirety anywhere

[TheVaughan5]

the greatest music played in the greatest location, it doesn't get any better than this.

[gremlingrump]

How glad i am that i wasn't in the cathedral listening to this......i do believe i would have stopped breathing!!! It is enough to be flooded with emotion and sitting at home with tears streaming down my face.

[mart77scole]

I would have loved to have been in the cathedral as those crescendo's were spiralling up into the heights of the knave. The broadcast can never quite do it justice, but thanks for the upload, a true masterpiece of English 20th century work. I love the vibrato of the solo instruments, so beautiful.

[glueskin]

calms the soul, gives you your pride back ,,, picks you up and dusts you off,,, as a Northumbrian I love this work.

[retrodude01]

Beautiful!

[rockyj74426]

One of the six greatest pieces of music ever composed (imho).

[link955NH]

To the two who gave this "dislikes:" Perhaps you should stick to the Justin Bieber section. This music is for grown-ups.

The first time I heard this I thought: "Earth people don't write music like this." An incredible achievement.

[Thefuturelooksbright]

Truly AWESOME!!!! The video and audio production off each other to bring a cool experience to us all.

Hoepfully you introduced some new fans to Vaughan Williams

Thanks

[PUBNGER]

Unbelievable, so much more than words can say.

Musik to die for, at least to die with ....

[KissyouMissyouxxx]

@PUBNGER Exactly so........

[robertcropf]

Thank you. Beautiful video of a wonderful work of music.

[elisitam17]

muy muy bonito

[kaskabel]

preciosa!!!!



[Druid1tothe21st]

Thousands of years in the making from all of those poor European souls that found themselves washed upon the shores of this green and pleasant land. ... and who always have their backs to the sea.... 1939. We stand here like nowhere else on earth..... and fight. Thanks.

[90twin]

Hearing this piece makes me want to go to England so, so bad.

[Helzephron]

This recording was commisioned by the BBC to recreate the original performance, which took place (and was specifically intended by RVW) for Gloucester Cathedral.

It's best to treat the reverb, therefore as "authentic"!

[manthasagittarius]

@Helzephron Wonderful to hear this resonant piece in the ancient stone acoustics, even on a recording. As it builds, there must be an overwhelming sense of being physically enveloped in the sound for one hearing it there, almost as if one were being engulfed and made part of it. The human voice quality of the string sound is coming through strongly too, no doubt on the same acoustics.

[Co2Und3rground]

Stirs the soul

[XanimexotakuX]

absolutely beautiful melody

[keys2yourheart]

My favorite performance of my favorite piece of classical music. What more could you ask for?

[chiefmem2]

utterly brilliant

[letsbeone]

Ted and Ralph. Totally inescapable. Wow.

[LJBSasha]

It looks as if the conductor could be Sir Andrew Davis....

[LJBSasha]

If I've recognised him correctly (especially when remembering how often his face could be seen in photos and brochures during his time in Toronto as head of the Toronto Symphony), the next question becomes, given that this performance was apparently filmed in Gloucester Cathedral: could the orchestra by the BBC Symphony?

[Of course, I could be completely wrong...]

[galiciacentro]

Andrew Davis is the conductor. BBC symphony is the orchestra and Gloucester Cathedral is wonderful place where this orchestra plays. OK

[not2tees]

I also send my appreciations for this, galiciacentro. As a Canadian radio host said in announcing this work sometime ago,"it is one of the greatest 20th Century masterpieces."

What I would like to see are the names of the Orchestra and Conductor, providing this won't cause some copyright or other problem.

[JohnZ622]

Great video. But the sound is out of sync.

[j0andc0]

It's a serene and wonderful piece, i first heard it on Classic fm radio then on the film Master and Commander, and it leaves me with a sadness, but i love it.

[Schumacher140369]

When I first heard this at the age of 13 (whilst in a secondary school adaptation of the life of Christ), I was so moved by the music, that I forgot my positioning on stage. Now at the age of 40, it still has the same effect.

[SordidGuy]

I have known this piece for AGES, but I must say that this is the MOST AMAZING AND MESMERIZING performance the I could ever imagine!!!!!! THANK YOU GALICIACENTRO - I'm in complete awe!

[supasap]

just checking did Tallis write the book or did he have anything to do with the music also

[cottamweb]

If this doesn't rip out your heart strings you're dead.

Watch Master & Commander where the captain has to cut away his crew and shed a tear.

[bassitup40k]

gets me everytime

[pb1609]

this is an excerpt of a BBC programme of some years ago that explored the creation of the piece and played host to a live performance in Gloucester Cathedral, for which the piece was originally written I think

[jackfckntwist]

interesting! any idea if this can be purchased? I *need* to own this.

[msb0000]

Glorious! This stirs the deepest part of my soul.

[jackfckntwist]

Thank you for posting this... finding this has made my week... no joke. My favorite piece of all time. I've always wanted to see/hear this played in a cathedral, which is where I always imagined it be performed. Is this part of a dvd title/can it be purchased??

[prepboys1]

I know EXACTLY what you mean.

[prepboys1]

Wow, excellent performance.

[billycuw]

The thing that I love about this piece is that the main voice is the cello, they are one of my favorite string instruments. Another reason why is that it is so regal sounding but at the same time it has a loving feeling to it.

[m4zzic]

This is beautiful! I really like the video, it's something new with the tracking shot through the cathedral. By the way, I think the location is great, as the Fantasia is meant to be played in a cathedral. Unfortunately, video and audio are asyncronous.

[Friedsieger]

A great fantasia. Good tempi, too much reverb but hey, it's the building. Unfortunately the screen resolution is set wrong, looks like 16:9 is displayed as 4:3.

[galiciacentro]

It can change at any time. It is not a problem. Thank you for your observation.

[poet57]

@Friedsieger LOL!! I really don't think you can lay the blame for "too much reverb" on the building - the piece was actually written specifically for the accoustics of Gloucester Cathedral, the very building in which this was recorded!