"Spem in Alium" (Latin for "Hope in any other") is a composition from 1530 by the great English composer Thomas Tallis. The fact that it's still held in high regard after half a millennium is no fluke. It's an incredible piece of music, and one that I was excited to commit my particular brand of heresy to.

The original composition is for 40 singers, split into 8 groups of 5 voices. Only one group starts the composition, but the others join in piecemeal, and at times, groups are constantly exchanging lines with each other. In a live performance, the vocal lines will seem to bounce from one end of the stage to the other.

I won't lie, I go into most of my adaptations thinking the same thought: "What would this sound like as doom metal?" But each composition wants a different way of being handled, and each of the 40 voices is vitally important. I didn't want this to become a Branca/Chatham guitar army piece (though I think that would be cool for a different piece of music), so I started playing around with different rock-based instruments. 

In the end, the instrumentation is:

* 1 piano
* 2 clean guitars
* 2 distorted guitars
* 2 bass guitars
* 2 sawtooth synths
* 2 square synths
* 1 bass synth
* 1 Hammond organ through a Leslie
* 1 set of tubular bells
* 2 cellos
* 1 drum kit
* 1 drum machine

The guitars, synths, piano, and organ handle about 3 vocal lines each. Mixing this was tough, because I want the distorted guitars to have power, but I don't want those lines to dominate the others. The sawtooth synths do a good job reining them in.

And then of course, we have the drums. Even more heretical! But at this point, I am even more sold on having drums in these adaptations. Drums are the most dynamic non-vocal instrument in a rock outfit, so they're essential in forming expression. They're also excellent at guiding the listener through the various peaks and valleys that the piece meanders through.

It turns out that the heterogeneous instrumentation gives this 500-year-old piece a surprisingly postmodern feel. Whereas a homogeneous choir wouldn't really experience a huge change in timbre or feel when switching from one group to another, any group change in this ensemble feels like a genre change. The drum machine helps in those changes, allowing for a more laid-back sound as the synths take over from the louder rock instruments.

I'm still not totally sure what I think of this final result. It's one of the weirdest things I've done so far. Maybe I'll be more comfortable with it in a few weeks, maybe I'll redraft it at some point, but I hope you find something in this to enjoy.

Thank you to Musescore user fabiobetti, whose MIDI transcription of this piece I leaned on heavily to make this. https://musescore.com/user/3100216/scores/1010121

Hear 40 singers performing it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iT-ZAAi4UQQ

40 cellos: https://youtu.be/b28jPRB0Sdk?si=oOiBpQAglMF7_i_T

40 guitars: https://youtu.be/fbL5ltoT3Mg?si=WFr2soscR1QiqG-h

Spem In Alium - Rock version (Thomas Tallis)

Here's what I do: I take music I like, pull out the vocals (if any), and rearrange the music to make something interesting.

My tastes are a bit strange, and I'm not a young person anymore, so it's very possible you won't recognize any of the original artists here. They're all fantastic, though, so maybe you'll find something to your taste?

Everything is done in Logic Pro, with virtual instruments. I claim no copyright in my sampled work, and try to attribute everything, with links back to the original artists. 

Profile image credit: Detail of photo by Dmitry Demidov: https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-photo-of-cassette-tape-3920974/

Banner image credit: Detail of photo by Bastian Riccardi: https://www.pexels.com/photo/majestic-dome-ceiling-with-fresco-paintings-in-catholic-cathedral-6251682/

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Spem In Alium - Rock version (Thomas Tallis)

Unctuous Mixtape