Spem in Alium - the 40 voice spectacular
Temple Church, EC4Y 7BB , [Venue Details]Thomas Tallis’s monumental motet Spem in alium nunquam habui praeter in te, Deus Israel (I have never placed my hope in any other but in You, O God of Israel) stands as one of the most extraordinary achievements in choral music.
Rarely performed, it is a breathtaking feat of contrapuntal imagination, conceived for an astonishing forty independent vocal lines arranged into eight choirs of five voices each.
Composed around 1572–73, Spem in alium is believed to have been first performed at Nonsuch Palace, the Earl of Arundel’s summer residence, whose octagonal hall and surrounding balconies likely inspired Tallis’s bold spatial design.
The music unfolds as sound travels through space - surging from choir to choir, surrounding the listener in waves of resonance. Towering passages for all forty voices alternate with intimate exchanges among smaller groups, while musical ideas leap across the ensemble.
The result is a profoundly immersive, almost architectural experience: a living sculpture of sound that envelops both ear and imagination.
This concert is supported by a consortium of donors and is given to mark the retirement of The Revd Robin Griffith-Jones, Master of Temple Church.
More Information
Admission
Min: £10.00
Max: £45.00
Seating: Reserved
Performer name: The Temple Singers, Thomas Allery - conductor
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Spem in Alium - the 40 voice spectacular
Thursday, 2 Jul 2026 @6.30pm
Temple Church, EC4Y 7BBMore Information
Thomas Tallis’s monumental motet Spem in alium nunquam habui praeter in te, Deus Israel (I have never placed my hope in any other but in You, O God of Israel) stands as one of the most extraordinary achievements in choral music.
Rarely performed, it is a breathtaking feat of contrapuntal imagination, conceived for an astonishing forty independent vocal lines arranged into eight choirs of five voices each.
Composed around 1572–73, Spem in alium is believed to have been first performed at Nonsuch Palace, the Earl of Arundel’s summer residence, whose octagonal hall and surrounding balconies likely inspired Tallis’s bold spatial design.
The music unfolds as sound travels through space - surging from choir to choir, surrounding the listener in waves of resonance. Towering passages for all forty voices alternate with intimate exchanges among smaller groups, while musical ideas leap across the ensemble.
The result is a profoundly immersive, almost architectural experience: a living sculpture of sound that envelops both ear and imagination.
This concert is supported by a consortium of donors and is given to mark the retirement of The Revd Robin Griffith-Jones, Master of Temple Church.
Admission
Min: £10.00
Max: £45.00
Seating: Reserved
Performer name: The Temple Singers, Thomas Allery - conductor
Halibuts is the only place to find ALL London's live music.
Free for all to use, we track ~1,000 London venues and list every type of live music.
To reach our home page, Click here
Or download the Halibuts APP:
IOS
ANDROID