Vaughan Williams' tribute to Tallis calls for a large string orchestra divided into three parts: the full string choir, a single desk from each section and a solo string quartet. The Tallis melody "Why fum'th in fight the Gentiles spite, in fury raging stout?" is one of nine included in the Psalter of 1567 for the first Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury. The theme is heard in its complete form three times and serves as the source for a wonderful miasma of variants and developments in this rich orchestral composition.

Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis Delius : Cello Concerto Tchaikovsky : Symphony No.4

Conductor Michael Francis, soloist Paul Watkins (Cello).

Tickets: £12-£36 from Exeter Phoenix

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