Sacred Choral Works
Hundreds of years before Phil Spector introduced American rock audiences  to his "wall of sound," 16th-century English composer Thomas Tallis wrote his  40-part motetSpem in alium.This was the real thing--no electronic  gimmicks, no overdubbing. Imagine the effect of eight five-part choirs in the  highly resonant acoustic of a large church, piling up layer upon layer of sonic  blocks of harmony; methodically, rhythmically building the sound toward a  climactic conclusion more than nine minutes later. While no recording can do  full justice to this piece, this one comes close. The rest of the program is  filled with music and choral singing that is nothing short of inspired: there is  a spare beauty in the short hymn "O nata lux"; a dazzling display of  near-perfect ensemble singing in the hymn "Jesu salvator saeculi"; and sheer  sensuality and exhilarating power in the six-part Marian antiphon "Gaude  gloriosa."--David Vernier