In Celebration of the Human Voice - The Essential Musical Instrument

Hilliard Ensemble

Group.

Unrivalled for its formidable reputation in the fields of both early and new music, The Hilliard Ensemble is one of the world's finest vocal chamber groups. Its distinctive style and highly developed musicianship engage the listener as much in medieval and renaissance repertoire as in works specially written by living composers.

The group's standing as an early music ensemble dates from the 1980s with its series of successful recordings for EMI (many of which have now been re-released on Virgin) and its own mail-order record label hilliard LIVE, now available on the Coro label; but from the start it has paid equal attention to new music. The 1988 recording of Arvo Part's Passio began a fruitful relationship with both Part and the Munich-based record company ECM, and was followed by their recording of Part's Litany . The group has recently commissioned other composers from the Baltic States , including Veljo Tormis and Erkki-Sven Tuur, adding to a rich repertoire of new music from Gavin Bryars, Heinz Holliger, John Casken, James MacMillan, Elena Firsova and many others.

In addition to many a cappella discs, collaborations for ECM include most notably Officium and Mnemosyne with the Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek, a partnership which continues to develop and renew itself, and Morimur with the German Baroque violinist Christoph Poppen and soprano Monika Mauch. Based on the research of Prof. Helga Thoene, this is a unique interweaving of Bach's Partita in D minor for solo violin with a selection of Chorale verses crowned by the epic Ciaconna , in which instrumentalist and vocalists are united.

The group continues in its quest to forge relationships with living composers, often in an orchestral context. In 1999, they premiered Miroirs des Temps by Unsuk Chin with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Kent Nagano. In the same year, James MacMillan's Quickening, commissioned jointly by the BBC and the Philadelphia Orchestra, was premiered at the BBC Proms. With Lorin Maazel and the New York Philharmonic, they performed the world premiere of Stephen Hartke's 3 rd Symphony and they recently collaborated with the Munich Chamber Orchestra with a new work by Erkki-Sven T uu r. In 2007 they joined forces with the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra to premiere Nunc Dimittis by the Russian composer Alexander Raskatov, also recording this for ECM.

A new development for the group began in August 2008 with the premiere at the Edinburgh International Festival of a music theatre project written by Heiner Goebbels in a production by the Th ea tre Vidy, Lausanne : I went to the house but did not enter . This has subsequently been presented throughout Europe and the US with further performances scheduled for 2009/10.

Highlights of their calendar this season include premieres in Koln, Paris and New York of Et Lux, a substantial new work by Wolfgang Rihm for which they are joined by the Arditti Quartet, a weekend mini-festival at London's Wigmore Hall, a visit to Australia's Perth International Arts Festival, the European premiere of Stephen Hartke's 3 rd Symphony with Christoph Poppen and the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrucken Kaiserslautern and concerts with Jan Garbarek.

Discography

Displaying 1-4 of 4 items.

Hilliard Ensemble : Arvo Part - St. John Passion

Review: Arvo Part's contemporary sacred work, St. John Passion, is sung in Latin and recalls the purity and timelessness of the great musical passions of the seventeenth century. Recorded from Durham's magnificent medieval cathedral, the performance features the Hilliard Ensemble and the Western Wind Choir, conducted by Paul Hillier. The solo parts are sung by John Potter (Pilate), Michael George (Christ), Mary Seers, David James, Roger Covey-Crump and Gordon Jones (The Evangelist Quartet). A short introduction precedes the work.

Songlist: 1.Opening credits, 2.Introduction, 3.Passio Domini nostri, 4.Haec cum dixisset Jesus, 5.Quem quaeritis?, 6.Stabat autem et Judas, 7Quem quaeritis?7, 8.Ut impleretur sermo, 9.Mitte gladium tuum in vaginam, 10.Cohors ergo, et tribunus, 11.Erat autem Caiphas, 12.Dixit ergo Petro ancilla ostiaria, 13.Stabant autem servi, 14.Ego palam locutus sum mundo, 15.Haec autem cum dixisset, 16. Erat autem Simon Petrus stans, 17.Adducunt ergo Jesum a Caipha, 18.Quam accusationem affertis, 19. Introivit ergo iterum in praetorium Pilatus, 20.Regnum meum non est de hoc mundo, 21.Tu dicis quia Rex sum ego, 22.Et cum hoc dixisset, iterum exivit ad Judaeous, 23. Tunc ergo apprehendit Pilatus Jesum, 24.Exivit ergo iterum Pilatus foras, 25.Cum ergo vidissent eum Pontifices, 26.Cum ergo audisset Pilatus hunc sermonem, 27. Non haberes potestatem adversum me ullam, 28.Et exinde quaerebat Pilatus dimittere eum, 29.Erat autem parasceve Paschae, 30.Et baiulans sibi crucem exivit in eum, and more

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Hilliard Ensemble : Medieval English Music

Review: Towards the end of the 14th century, England saw the rise of a pleasingly consonant musical style that was admired abroad as the "English manner." Paul Hillier and the Hilliard Ensemble are heard in a selection of the most beautiful polyphonic songs and carols from this rich period. "The performance...match the beauty of the music - a sound of remarkable purity. Their ensemble singing is perfection itself, and each part is exquisitely phrased." - Stereo Review

Songlist: Salve Virgo Virginum, Now Springes The Spray, Ah Si Mon Moine, Adam Lay Ibounden, Foweles In The Frith, So Trieben Wir Den Einter Aus, Coventry Carol, Gaudete, An Adult Lullaby, Veni, Yeni, Salva Nos, Verbum Caro, Lo, Here My Heart, Binnorie O Binnorie, This Ay Night, Miri It Is

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Hilliard Ensemble : Sacred & Secular Music from 6 Centuries

Review: Whereas most of Hilliard Ensemble's recordings have been designed around a particular composer or collection of music, this disc is content simply to offer The Hilliard Ensemble 'in recital', and presents a mixed programme of early vocal music - including many of the group's favourite pieces.

Songlist: Salve Regina, Planctus Ante Nescia, Quant Je Sui MIs, Vergene Bella, Gloria Ad Modem Tubae, Most Clear Of Color, O Nata lux, Ne Irascaris Domine / Civitas Sancti Tui, Dezi, Flor rresplandeciante, Sancta Mater, El Jubilate, Tota Pulcra Es, Bon Jour Mon Coeur, Le Chant Des Oiseaulx

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Hilliard Ensemble : The Singing Club

Review: Singing clubs of one kind or another played a small but key role in the history of English convivial music. Bustling 17th-century coffee house and taverns were venues for the singing of rounds and catches. Not particularly sophisticated, but many composers, Purcell the most prominent, created a series of miniatures whose wit and melodic invention have rarely been equaled. Acclaimed all-male septet The Hilliard Ensemble, directed by Paul Hillier, divides "The Singing Club" in two parts, beginning with "The Catch Club," Thomas Ravenscroft's "A Round of three country dances in one" and "There were three ravens," John Hilton's "Call George again, boys," William Lawes' "Drink tonight of the moonshine bright," "Dainty fine aniseed water fine" and "Gather your rosebuds while you may," John Wilson's "Where the bee sucks, there suck I," Purcell's "Tis woman makes us love" and "Sir Walter enjoying his damsel," Thomas Arne's title tune and others. The second part, "The Glee Club," features the upbeat "Foresters sound the cheerful horn" by Henry Bishop, Thomas Arne's "Sigh no more, ladies," John Smith's "The Anacreontick Song," Robert Pearsall's "There is a paradise on earth," and Joseph Bamby's "Sweet and low." 21 spirited, lilting, romantic a cappella songs that touch and cheer us on many levels-a beautiful, joyous CD!

Songlist: A Round of three country dances in one, There were three ravens, Call George again, boys, Drink tonight of the moonshine bright, She weepeth sore in the night, Dainty fine aniseed water fine, Where the bee sucks there suck I, Gather your rosebuds while you may, 'Tis woman makes us love, Sir Walter enjoying his damsel, Inigo Jones, Epitaph, The Singing Club, Foresters sound the cheerful horn, To soften care, The Anacreontick Song, Elegy on the death of Mr. Shenstone, Sigh no more ladies, There is a paradise on earth, O who will o'er the downs so free, Sweet and low

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