AtDTDA 32: Fantasia on a Fantasia of Thomas Tallis Pt. 3

[robinlandseadel at comcast.net]

Real polyphony is like that. Late Beethoven is the master,
multi-voiced works really absorbing him from op. 101 on.
Try the David Zinmann recording of the Missa Solemnis.
Best recording ever and one of the cheapest [$7.99] as well.
Go figure.

My mind's eye can display multiple images rotating on 
multiple axes, much like quarterninions and the current
application of that old math in CAD and computer 
animation. Holding multiple lines of thought---like Glenn 
Gould's Solitude Trilogy or Orson Welles' multi-voiced 
soundscapes---is very much the point, systems based 
on "and", not "or".

The "and-ness" of the Tallis Fantasia is also underscored 
by its antiphonal nature. There is a tradition of choral writing
"in the round", some of the earliest use of surround sound.
"Spem in Allium" is the ultimate example, Tallis' work being 
justifiably famous for its architectural sweep, the way the 
echos circle you, envelop you, much like working in circle.

"Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis" nods in the general 
direction of antiphony by subdividing the orchestra into three 
distinct sections. There are three distinct physical planes of 
music going on in nine-voice harmony---many planes of reality 
going on at once, circling, breathing, living, being, harmonizing---
yes Mark, like the dance of the deaf. Real polyphony does that.

And three, and nine, these numbers are of a particular fascination 
to old celts, the Triple Goddess and the Nine Maidens.

Much as Sibelius' "Tapiola" invokes the angry and beautiful
old God of the Forests of Finland, Vaughan-Williams invokes 
the spirits of "this green and pleasant land."

This co-creation, this rhythmic entrainment so beloved by African 
religions, the mesh and weave of this call and response is much 
closer to the way things really are than explanations based on 
"Cause & Effect" or the one true anything. It's all vibrations, that's
all there is.

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