Gramophone Classical Music Podcast Nico Muhly and Peter Phillips on their new album 'No Resting Place'
Mar 20, 2026
Peter Phillips, founder and conductor of the Tallis Scholars, renowned for Renaissance polyphony. Nico Muhly, contemporary composer noted for vocal and choral works and long-term collaboration with the ensemble. They discuss how their partnership developed, writing for the Tallis ten-voice texture, blending Renaissance models with modern texts, and the stories behind several striking new pieces.
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How Nico Found The Tallis Scholars Sound
- Peter Phillips discovered Nico Muhly could write specifically for the Tallis Scholars, matching their distinctive 10-voice construction.
- That fit began with Recordare (11 years earlier) and led to six commissioned pieces now forming a cohesive hour-long disc.
Designing Jerusalem As An Unfurling Musical Thread
- Nico imagined Lamentations as an arc from austere abstraction into endless unfurling lines for the Jerusalem section.
- He used the choir's strengths (notably the four sopranos) to reveal that Jerusalem entrance gradually and powerfully.
Placing Modern Testimony Inside Ancient Lamentations
- Muhly interleaved Hebrew letters, Latin Lamentations text and contemporary English Windrush-era material to make the modern testimony belong within the ancient frame.
- He repeats musical material (e.g., the Beth music) under English diary lines so words like "gray" resonate across layers.