Spem in alium

Spem in alium
by Thomas Tallis
Composer Thomas Tallis
English"I have never put my hope in any other but in Thee, God of Israel"
GenreRenaissance Choral music
FormMotet
TextMatins responsory from the Sarum Rite
LanguageLatin
Composedc. 1556/1570
Scoring40 voices a cappella

Spem in alium (Latin for "Hope in any other") is a 40-part Renaissance motet by Thomas Tallis, composed in c. 1570 for eight choirs of five voices each. It is considered by some critics to be the greatest piece of English early music. H. B. Collins described it in 1929 as Tallis's "crowning achievement", along with his Lamentations.[1]