Of all the wonderful sketches in The Fast Show those featuring Paul Whitehouse and Charlie Higson as Ralph and Ted stand out for me. The blend of comedy and occasional poignancy was always a treat. A classic example of this is the scene in the graveyard after the funeral of Ted’s wife ‘Mrs Ted’. They talk of renewal and life going on and just as they are walking away from the graveside Ted’s legs buckle slightly as the grief catches up with him. Not your usual run of the mill comedy fare. It is beautifully done and the sketch ends with a soaring orchestral piece.
Back then with the internet still in it’s relative infancy it took me ages to find out what the piece was called. Soon after I heard it again, used as backing music on a documentary on the making of the film Platoon. What was it? It was only when I accidentally stumbled across it on a classical music compilation did I finally have a name for it. ‘Fantasia on a theme by Thomas Tallis’ by Ralph Vaughan Williams.
Problem solved. Once I knew what it was it appeared to be everywhere. No television shot of rolling English countryside was complete without it. It is repeatedly used on the soundtrack to the Russell Crowe film ‘Master And Commander’, and you can barely listen to half an hour of Classic FM without hearing Vaughan Williams. However my musical curiosity was pricked and I now wondered ‘who was Thomas Tallis?’. Tallis was an English composer during the Tudor period, who became a favourite of the royals, whilst managing to avoid becoming a victim of the political and religious intrigues that swirled around the Tudor court. His best known work is probably ‘Spem in Alium’ a piece of music designed to be sung by eight choirs of five voices each. It was composed around 1570. I find it amazing that we can still listen to, and enjoy, beautiful music written nearly 500 years ago. From The Fast Show to the court of Henry VIII,isn’t it amazing the journey music can take us on?
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