Release Date: 13 October 2014
Label: ECM New Series
Packaging Type: Jewel Case
No of Units: 1
Barcode: 028948111060
Description
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."
Personnel: David James (countertenor), Rogers Covey-Crump, Steven Harrold (tenor), Gordon Jones (baritone)
Tracklisting
Gidon Kremer, Kremerata Baltica & Vida Mikneviciute
Arvo Part
Thomas Larcher
John Holloway Ensemble
Heinz Holliger & Anton Kernjak
Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Tallinn Chamber Orchestra & Tonu Kaljuste
Karlheinz Stockhausen Michaels Reise
Andras Schiff
The Hilliard Ensemble, EQ Ensemble, Elisaveta Blumina
Ivan Monighetti, The Hilliard Ensemble, Dublin Guitar Quartet
The Hilliard Ensemble, Muriel Cantoreggi, Genevieve Strosser & Jurg Dahler
The Hilliard Ensemble, Beethoven Orchestra & Dennis Russell Davies
The Hilliard Ensemble
The Hilliard Ensemble
The Hilliard Ensemble
