scattered profundis introducing stockhausen

popular music:

6 reviews
Terry Riley, Paul Hillier, ...

Da Capo [Naxos], 2007

A stunning performance of a contemporary classic
OK, I admit I'm a little obsessed with this piece. This is the 6th version of it I own. Frankly, Riley's 1964 minimalist masterpiece varies so much from one version to another that it easily embraces diverse interpretations, from the early version called Mantra, to the excellent version by the Bang on a Can All-Stars, or my favorite by the Belgian new music group Ictus. (I've never been a fan ...

Machaut: Messe de Notre Dame / The Hilliard Ensemble

5 reviews
Guillaume de Machaut, The Hilliard Ensemble, ...

Hyperion UK, 1993

The World of Machaut
The Mediaeval Frenchman Guillaume de Machaut is one of those composers who shaped the course of musical history most significantly. He wrote some of the earliest known polyphonic pieces of vocal music, as well as writing astonishing poetry for his own semi-sacred songs or 'lais.' On this disc, the Hilliard Ensemble present three of his most representative works, all well worth exploring. The ...

Early American Choral Music, Vol. 2

4 reviews
Anonymous, William Billings, ...

Hmf Classical Exp., 2002

The Better of the two
I have both disc in the series. I liked the music on this disc much more than the first. The selections seem more focused and the sounds are much clearer. Also, the particular pieces fit better together. I love the sound of this group and hope they make more in the future.

Arvo Pärt: Da Pacem

2 reviews
Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Paul Hillier

Harmonia Mundi Fr., 2006

Transcendental Purity meets Slavonic Psalms Mastery
Many things have been said about Arvo Part. Nevertheless, I will venture some words about this CD. Part's compositions evoke a meditative, deeply thoughtful atmosphere. When I played this CD for the first time, my visceral reaction was to close my eyes and let the sound "heal" those niches in my soul that Part has boldly decided to explore in himself. Not for the faint of heart, this living ...

Early American Choral Music, Vol. 1

6 reviews
William Billings, Paul Hillier

Hmf Classical Exp., 2001

How well do you like this kind of music?
I ended up ordering this CD, as well as Vol. 2, and "Make A Joyful Noise: American Psalmody." I thought the quality was excellent on all three, but I wanted to say that if you're not sure how well you like this kind of music, I would recommend the American Psalmody CD instead of the two CD set. I found myself enjoying the music very much at first, but quickly losing interest as it all began to ...

Perotin / The Hilliard Ensemble

20 reviews
Perotin, Anonymous, ...

Ecm Records, 2000

The Best Perotin Recording.
Perotin was a 12th century composer in Paris at the Cathedral of Notre Dame. We know almost nothing about him. Perotin (which is a diminutive of Peter) is described by a mid-thirteenth century student identified today as Anonymous IV who states that Perotin was the greatest composer of discant and better than another composer, Leonin, who came before him (it's not even 100% clear that they were ...

Arvo Pärt: De Profundis

9 reviews
Arvo Part, Paul Hillier, ...

Harmonia Mundi Fr., 1997

Power and Grace
Hillier's Theatre of Voices gives an absolutely wonderful rendering of Pärt's work. The music is amazing, recalling medieval choral music as well as contemporary ideas in musical composition. Pärt manages to touch on a wide range of feeling throughout all of these compositions, conveying emotion while maintaining the kind of austerity of sound found in medieval chant. Ultimately, the CD ...

Crossing the Stone

4 reviews
Kevin Horsley, Laurence Cottle, ...

Sony, 2003

A Towering Musical Achievement
While biographies disguised as reviews are tiresome, some background is in order, in this case. At the age of 23, Catrin Finch has been playing the harp for 18 years. She was appearing on British television and with major orchestras by the time she was 10, and was appointed the Royal Harpist to HRH The Prince of Wales (a.k.a. Prince Charles) at the age of 20. Bottom line: This lady has more ...

Josquin Desprez: Motets & Chansons

15 reviews
Josquin Desprez, Paul Hillier, ...

EMI Classics, 1997

Splendid
Other reviewers have pretty much said it all-- all I can add is-- if you don't like James's voice, then don't listen to Hilliard. David James is to the Hilliard Ensemble what The Edge is to U2. ;)

Steve Reich: Phases

3 reviews
Donald Palma, Maya Beiser, ...

Nonesuch, 2006

A Steve Reich 70th Birthday Present from Nonesuch
If you are a big Steve Reich fan, you probably already have most or all of these recordings. These are not rarities, PHASES is not for collectors -- this 5-disc box is aimed at those of us who have been curious, but not convinced enough to buy multiple Reich recordings. I, for instance, consider MUSIC FOR 18 MUSICIANS to be a masterpiece of late 20th century music (the original ECM recording), ...

Baltic Voices 2

2 reviews
Galina Grigorjeva, Per Norgard, ...

Harmonia Mundi Fr., 2004

They've done it again!
The Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir with Paul Hillier was memorable in the first Baltic Voices recording, so it would be hard to say that they have outdone themselves, but they have come close. They have discovered many composers-many very worthy composers-to the world in this recording. The Choir is brilliant and the very talented Mr. Hillier puts them to excellent use. They can make ...

Mozart: Vespers K. 321 & 339/Ave Verum Corpus; King's College Choir, Cambridge; Hilliard Ensemble

3 reviews
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Stephen Cleobury, ...

EMI Classics, 1989

Elegant performances of Mozart's Vespers plus...
Mozart composed the two Vesper Services ('Vesperae de Dominica' K321 and 'Vesperae solennes de confessore'K339) in 1779 and 1780 for performances in the Salzburg cathedral and so it is very fitting that this lovely recording is performed in the cathedral-like setting of the Chapel of King's College, Cambridge. These works were written as occasional pieces and have never reached the popularity of ...

Tallis, Lamentations of Jeremiah / Hilliard Ensemble

3 reviews
Thomas Tallis, Paul Hillier

Ecm Records, 2000

Tallis was the height of the Renaissance
wonderful music from one of the greatest composers of the 16th century brilliantly performed. This thick heavenly music feels so good to listen to. Spiritual, & anyway Mozart doesn't make you smart; Thomas Tallis does.

Carols From the Old & New Worlds

8 reviews
Daniel Read, Christmas Traditional, ...

Harmonia Mundi Fr., 1994

Give it 6 stars
This is a wonderful collection of Carols from around the world, beautifully performed by the Theater of Voices. I don't know what CD the first reviewer heard, because this one doesn't contain strident voices - the choir is very well blended, and the soloists are outstanding. I highly recommend it. It is hard to choose best tracks, as they are so varied and well done, but my personal favorites ...

Reich Remixed

16 reviews
Various Artists, DJ Spooky That Subliminal Kid, ...

Nonesuch, 1999

Children of Reich Create Loving Homage
The entrancing hobby of looping gave birth to essencially all forms of techno in existence today, and all followers should be thankful Steve Reich's cassette tapes messed up one day to create a looping effect. He soon became obsessed with overlapping sounds and varying tempos, a basic foundation for modern day electronic music. Such is the reason why a wide variety of artists came together to ...

Stockhausen: Stimmung [Hybrid SACD]

7 reviews
Karlheinz Stockhausen, Paul Hillier, ...

Harmonia Mundi Fr., 2007

Not music as we know it, Jim...
The only works by Stockhausen that I'm familiair with are Mantra, Gesang der Junglinge and Kontakte, so I'm by no means an expert. And the Theatre of Voices I know mainly through their renditions of works by Arvo Part, so again: not an expert. Frank Zappa once described the first time he listened to Edgar Varese ("Ionisation", I think it was) as a "sonic experience", a typically astute ...

Les tres riches heures du Moyen Age: A Medieval Journey

4 reviews
Josep Cabre, Marcel Pérès, ...

Harmonia Mundi Fr., 1995

7.5 hours of superb music at a most reasonable price.
There isn't a clunker in this set. All the performers are top drawer and the recordings are good. The notes are a little brief and a bit scholarly, but can be ignored easily. You will get an idea of the different kinds of medieval music as well as the top groups and soloists working currently in the field. When I got this set, my mother and I listened to all 7+ hours straight through. We ...

Steve Reich 1965-1995

3 reviews
Hugo Munday, Donald Palma, ...

Nonesuch, 1997

Essential
The term "essential" gets thrown about too much. And heck, the claim that certain words get thrown about too much gets thrown about too much. But here is a collection that really *is* essential to understanding the nature of a whole shift not just in classical music, but in popular music and indeed in popular culture. So many of Reich's ideas and concepts have become so deeply embedded in ...

Scattered Rhymes

1 review
Tarik O' Regan, Guillaume de Machaut, ...

Harmonia Mundi, 2008

Stunning and exhilarating!
Wow! I guarantee most people will not have heard a disc like this before. The Machaut is sublime, gritty, unexpected and just excellently performed here by the Orlando Consort. However it's Tarik O'Regan's 'Scattered Rhymes', which opens the disc that will blow you away. For one thing it's FAST, something which most new choral music is not. For this piece, the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber ...

Introducing Classical Express

1 review
Dennis L. Godburn, David Bowles, ...

Hmf Classical Exp., 2001

A Must have collections overview of musical gems
The Harmonia Mundi label's new classical collection gives excerpts from its new series of chamber and classical music. It is a wonderful buffet of the full length Cds; one of which I am listening too as I write this (Shubert Piano Trio no.1.) These cds are a treat. They are beautiful. The collection includes music from vivaldi, mozart and even prokovief. Its a collection of intimate and ...

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