Hilliard Ensemble
An entire class of English vocal ensembles, sometimes placed under an "Oxbridge Sound" umbrella, specializes in early music. Among the prestigious ranks of the Gothic Voices, the Tallis Scholars, Pro Cantione Antiqua, the Oxford Camerata, and the Sixteen, longevity and musical versatility placed the Hilliard Ensemble in a class almost of their own. Named for the great Elizabethan miniaturist painter Nicholas Hilliard, the Hilliard Ensemble grew out of the musical vision of baritone Paul Hillier, a graduate of the Guildhall School of Music, and his friendships with three other singers (two of them from Oxford). Their intention was to explore the then-less-heard musical riches of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Their musical odyssey covered music from the 11th to the 17th century, with a strong interest in new vocal music as well. Though Paul Hillier himself left the ensemble in 1990 to take American academic positions, the core membership remained fairly consistent: countertenor David James, tenors Rogers Covey-Crump and John Potter, and bass Gordon Jones. Tenor Steven Harrold joined when Potter left the ensemble in 1998.
The Hilliard Ensemble's work under Hillier's direction centered on English and "Netherlandish" music. Notable recordings included pathbreaking performances of Leonel Power and the Old Hall Manuscript, a large selection of music from the Continental generations influenced by the English style; the "Contenance Angloise" (Dufay, Ockeghem, and Josquin); and excellent renditions of later English composers such as Thomas Tallis and William Byrd. As an example of their many departures from this Renaissance main road, however, the Hilliard Ensemble's catalog features a musically powerful and quite controversial 1989 recording of the music of Pérotin. At all times, the singers performed almost exclusively one on a part (in contrast to the "choral" Tallis Scholars), with a characteristic full and resonant vocal production, and impeccable tuning. In addition, Hillier's individual approach emphasized historical pronunciation; he performed Latin texts by English composers, for instance, with regional Anglo-Latin dialects, thereby significantly altering the very sound of the music.
During Hillier's tenure as director, and even more spectacularly through the 1990s, the Hilliard Ensemble also devoted significant energy to the presentation of contemporary music. A large number of ECM label discs containing the tintinnabuli music of Estonian composer Arvo Pärt featured the ensemble, as did a 1995 recording of the music of Giya Kancheli, Abii Ne Viderem. A 1996 compilation, A Hilliard Songbook: New Music for Voices, presented the results of several years of the ensemble's direct commissions and Hilliard Composition Prizes; among the composers represented are Morton Feldman, James MacMillan, Ivan Moody, and Joanne Metcalf. A fascinating collaboration between the Hilliard Ensemble and Norwegian jazz saxophonist Jan Garbarek yielded Officium in 1994. Its music bridged the centuries with esoteric flights of saxophone improvisation above the hyper-resonant landscape of the Hilliard Ensemble singing chants and spiritual motets, a musical nexus that nearly defies description. The best-selling recording topped the classical charts for months. The group appeared with the Arditti Quartet performing the music of Wolfgang Rihm in 2009, and with Fretwork in 2011 performing the music of Nico Muhly. Their 2013 release, Il Cor Tristo, juxtaposed the 16th century music of Bernardo Pisano and Jacques Arcadelt with a new work by Roger Marsh. Transeamus, released in late 2014, was the last album the Hilliard Ensemble recorded before retiring at the end of that year, and it marked their return to the music of the 15th century. In October of 2019, ECM issued Remember Me, My Dear, an archival concert document from 2014's final tour by the Hilliard Ensemble with saxophonist Jan Garbarek. The recording commemorated the 25th anniversary of Officium's release.
© Timothy Dickey /TiVo
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Arvo Pärt: Live
Hilliard Ensemble, Munich Radio Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Chorus, Ulf Schirmer, Peter Dijkstra
Klassik - Erschienen bei BR-Klassik am 28.04.2017
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Byrd: Songs of Sundrie Natures. Music for Voices and Viols
Klassik - Erschienen bei Warner Classics am 16.06.2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Medieval Music - HENRY VIII / DUFAY, G. / CODAX, M. (Tranquil Medieval Music) (Hilliard Ensemble) ( Anonymous - Henry VIII (King of England) - Guillaume Dufay)
Klassik - Erschienen bei The Gift of Music am 01.01.2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ockeghem : Requiem, Missa Mi-Mi, Missa Prolationum
Klassik - Erschienen bei Warner Classics am 19.04.2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Madrigals
Hilliard Ensemble, Paul Hillier
Klassik - Erschienen bei Warner Classics am 01.01.1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Josquin Desprez - Motets and Chansons
Klassik - Erschienen bei Warner Classics am 29.04.1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Spain and the New World- Renaissance music from Aragon and Mexico
Klassik - Erschienen bei Warner Classics am 25.11.2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Palestrina: Canticum Canticorum
Klassik - Erschienen bei Warner Classics am 04.08.2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Franco-Flemish Masterworks
Klassik - Erschienen bei Warner Classics am 20.08.2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dufay: Missa "L'homme armé" & Motets
Klassik - Erschienen bei Warner Classics am 30.07.2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Josquin Desprez: Missa "Hercules dux Ferrariae", Motets and chansons
Hilliard Ensemble, Paul Hillier
Klassik - Erschienen bei Warner Classics am 02.02.2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schütz: Opus ultimum. Der Schwanengesang, Op. 13, SWV 482 - 494
Hilliard Ensemble, London Baroque, Knabenchor Hannover, Heinz Hennig
Klassik - Erschienen bei Warner Classics am 01.01.1985
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ockeghem - Requiem (Missa Pro Defunctis) & Missa Mi Mi (Missa Quarti Toni)
Hilliard Ensemble, Paul Hillier
Klassik - Erschienen bei Warner Classics am 25.11.2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ockeghem - Sacred Choral Works
Hilliard Ensemble, Paul Hillier
Klassik - Erschienen bei Warner Classics am 25.11.2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schütz: Matthäus-Passion, SWV 479
Klassik - Erschienen bei Warner Classics am 26.02.2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Power - Dunstaple : Masses and Motets
Klassik - Erschienen bei Warner Classics am 02.04.2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
De la Rue: Missa "Cum iocunditate" & Motets
Klassik - Erschienen bei Warner Classics am 01.01.1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Quickening - The Sacrifice
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Hilliard Ensemble, James MacMillan, City of Birmingham Symphony Youth Chorus, City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus
Klassik - Erschienen bei Chandos am 05.01.2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Trans limen ad lumen
Klassik - Erschienen bei Divox am 27.10.2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
De Monte: Sacred & Secular Works. Missa "La dolce vista", Motets & Madrigals
Hilliard Ensemble, Kees Boeke Consort
Klassik - Erschienen bei Warner Classics am 01.01.1983
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Hilliard Ensemble: Best of (Inspiration)
Klassik - Erschienen bei Warner Classics International am 17.10.1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo