HILLIARD ENSEMBLE, THE

In 1974 richtte Paul Hillier The Hilliard Ensemble op. Dit Britse kwartet van vier mannelijke solisten isvernoemd naar de schilder Nicholas Hillaird en richt zich op muziek uit de Middeleeuwen en de Renaissance. In 1994 krijgt dit kwartet (dat in de loop van de jaren qua bezetting volledig is vernieuwd) veel aandacht door Officium. Een baanbrekende album waarbij de oude gezangen worden gecombineerd met klanken van de Noorse saxofonist Jan Gabarek. Het vocale kwartet breidt het repertoire uit naar eigentijdse componisten zoals Arvo Pärt. Dit laatste album is gevuld met motetten en carols van diverse – veelal onbekende – Engelse componisten zoals Joh Plummer uit de tijd van Henry VIII. Een veelzijdig album met twee, drie en vierstemmig werk uit die tijd, afgesloten met een indrukwekkend Ah, gentle Jesu van Sheryngham.


The Hilliard Ensemble: Transeamus (English Carols and Motets)

anon.:
Thomas gemma Cantuarie primula
St Thomas honour we
Clangat tuba
Lullay, lullow: I saw a swete semely sight
There is no rose
Marvel not Joseph
Ecce quod natura
Ah! My dear Son
Dou way Robyn / Sancta Mater
Cornysh the elder:
Ave Maria Mater Dei
Lambe:
Stella Caeli
Plummer:
Anna Mater Matris Christi
Sheryngham:
Ah, gentle Jesu

David James (countertenor), Rogers Covey-Crump, Steven Harrold (tenor), Gordon Jones (baritone)

The Hilliard Ensemble

Having recorded more than twenty albums for ECM since the mid-80s, The Hilliard Ensemble caps its discography before retirement (at the end of 2014) with a final release: ‘Transeamus’, a collection of polyphony - in two, three and four parts - from 15th-century England.

The British vocal ensemble’s very first ECM recording included music from the court of Henry VIII, and ‘Transeamus’ brings their odyssey through the ages full circle. The album includes many of the group’s favourite pieces from this era, including previously unrecorded items from its concert programmes by the likes of John Plummer, Walter Lambe and William Cornysh. More of the album’s works are by composers rendered anonymous by time, yet all of this music is rich with enduring personality.

Tenor David James says: “The sweet harmonies might appear uncomplicated, but this transparency of sound creates a cumulative effect that is mesmerising. The album ends with ‘Ah gentle Jesu’. We know the composer’s name, Sheryngham, but virtually nothing else. On paper, it is a simple dialogue between Christ on the cross and a penitent sinner; however, the intensity of the music is so overwhelming that, from our experience in concert, both listener and performer are left in stunned silence.”