classical music: Paul Hillier

classical music: Paul Hillier

classical music:

Paul Hillier

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 ...

Home to Thanksgiving

Paul Hillier, Anonymous, ...

Harmonia Mundi Fr., 1999

Truly joyous music
This is a wonderful collection of music for thanksgiving - not just for the holiday, but for everyday. From the energetic opening, "Tis By Thy Strength The Mountains Stand", to the haunting "Evening Hymn" at close, this music is pure joy to listen to. The styles are ...

Baltic Voices 1 / Kreek Sandstrom / Rautavaara / Part / Vasks

Arvo Part, Einojuhani Rautavaara, ...

Harmonia Mundi Fr., 2003

Ethereally amazing
Many composers from Baltic countries round out this incredible compact disc, sung by a collection of excellent voices. The vocal blending is tremendous, despite isolation of the voices over several parts in, at times, serious dissonance. The music is so haunting, I ...

Josquin Desprez: Motets & Chansons

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. ;)

Scattered Rhymes

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 ...

Early American Choral Music, Vol. 1

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 ...

Riley: In C

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 ...

Machaut: Messe de Notre Dame / The Hilliard Ensemble

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 ...

John Dunstable: Motets / Hilliard Ensemble

John Dunstable

Angel Records, 2000

Spectacular - find it!!!
It seems like the moment this CD was reissued it went out of stock. Hopefully, the label will be smart enough to issue more copies of this extraordinary recording. This is truly one of the best early music recordings ever made. It won the best early music recording ...

Arvo Pärt: Da Pacem

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 ...

Steve Reich: Phases

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 ...

Arvo Pärt: De Profundis

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 ...

Proverb/Nagoya Marimbas/City Life

Jay Elfenbein, Jeanne LeBlanc, ...

Nonesuch, 1996

Composer-journalist's observations become chilling prophecy
For the past twelve years Reich has labored in the shadow of his unassailable masterpiece, "Different Trains." Both its concision and its monumentality made that sampling exposition of Holocaust testimony the standard for the work Reich has accurately if immodestly ...

The Cave

Hugo Munday, Jeanne LeBlanc, ...

Nonesuch, 1995

A Wonderful and Moving Performance
Like reviewer Keith Thomson, I too was at first a little puzzled by the disappointment of some of the reviewers: I found "The Cave" very beautiful and very moving. Mr Thomson is very perceptive as a critic when he writes "to appreciate this piece, one must have a mind ...

25 Years: Retrospective

Suzanne Elder, Paul Hillier, ...

Nonesuch, 1998

How Could You Not Listen?
My opinion pales when compared to this CD. Indeed the group's ingeniousness, its knowing and its balls are in full display here, hopefully to put to rest any lingering contention that there is little more to Kronos than form. To any person who accepts the merits of ...