Palestrina: Missa Tu es Petrus a 18 with David Hatcher on 17th January 2026

The Music: Palestrina’s six-voice motet Tu es Petrus, setting a text from St Matthew in which the pun of Petrus meaning both Peter and rock,was first published in his second book of motets in 1572. The same composer’s six-voice parody mass based on the motet was published by the Venetian printer Girolamo Scotto in 1601 in the Missarum Liber XII, but other parody masses based on the same motet were already known. Orazio Benevoli’s sixteen-part (4 choirs each of 4 voices) has recently been recorded by I Fagiolini and this 18-part, attributed (with some doubt) to Palestrina, is the subject of this MEMF workshop.

It is written for three six-part choirs, but combines the top and bottom parts of each choir in a number of passages to produce four-part choral textures that contrast beautifully with the full sections.

Singers and players of brass, curtals, lower shawms (tenor and below), recorders, bowed strings (viols and violin family) and plucked strings (lutes, harps) and harpsichord & organs are all welcome.

David Hatcher was born in Warwick and upon attaining the LTCL diploma two years after taking up music, he went on to study viola da gamba with Charles Medlam and recorder with Philip Thorby at Trinity College of Music, London. He began his career based in England, touring America, Israel, France, Germany and the Netherlands.

He has broadcast for both the BBC and independent radio and television. In 1987 he moved to Japan where he was to remain for the next 9 years, taking an active part in that country’s flourishing early music scene. He has recorded with Evelyn Tubb, The Consort of Musicke, I Fagiolini, Sprezzatura, and the Japanese ensembles Chelys, Ensemble Ecclesia and the Bach Collegium of Japan.

David now lives in Leominster on the Welsh Marches and has appeared with Fretwork, The Royal Shakespeare Theatre, The Globe Theatre, The Consort of Musicke, Musica Antiqua of London, The Corelli Orchestra, The Harp Consort, Glyndebourne Opera and many other period orchestras and ensembles.

He has taught on numerous summer schools, including the Cambridge Early Music Summer School, the Easter Early Music Course at Monmouth and Sastamala Gregoriana in Finland, and is in demand as a tutor for many weekend and day courses.

Past projects include performing in Damon Albarn’s opera ‘Dr Dee’ and performing and recording with I Fagiolini in their hugely successful interpretation of Striggio’s 40-voice mass. He performed in the inaugural season of the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse in 2014 and in the highly acclaimed production of The Knight of the Burning Pestle in 2014 & 2015. He is a founder member of The Linarol Consort of Viols,  the UK’s only consort specialising in the earliest repertoire for that instrument.