Episode 6 of Tim The Composer's podcast explores Thomas Tallis's forty-part motet "Spem in alium" and its turbulent Tudor context. Tim tells the story of Tallis's life as a secret Catholic through the reigns of four monarchs, how and why "Spem in alium" came to be, the mysterious numbers and symbolism within it, why it may be a piece of cunning subversiveness in dangerous times, and how Tallis created a magnificent, magical, and enduring masterpiece from deceptively simple ingredients.

Spotify Playlist for Episode 6: Forty

Episode 5 of Tim The Composer's podcast tells the story of Haydn's Symphony No. 45, the "Farewell". Tim explores how a group of homesick musicians, stranded at a remote Hungarian palace by their fabulously wealthy employer Prince Nikolaus Esterházy, turned to their Kapellmeister for help. Haydn's response was a symphony in an impossible key, ending with musicians walking off stage one by one, extinguishing their candles as they went. It worked: the court departed the next day.

Spotify Playlist for Episode 5: Farewell

Episode 4 of Tim The Composer's podcast is all about Monteverdi's opera, Orfeo, one of the very earliest of all operas. Tim discovers the fascinating story behind the opera's creation, exploring how and why Monteverdi and his collaborator Striggio ended up picking on this story in particular and creating this new artform, and the background in the Duchy of Mantua and the influence of the remarkable House of Gonzaga.

Spotify Playlist for Episode 4: Orfeo