The Hilliard Ensemble was a British male vocal quartet originally devoted to the performance of early music. The group was named after the

Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The symbol of Britannia (a female personif ...

miniaturist painter Nicholas Hilliard. Founded in 1974, the group disbanded in 2014. Although most of its work focused on music of the

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

and

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass id ...

periods, the Hilliard Ensemble also performed contemporary music, working frequently with the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt and included in its concerts works by John Cage, Gavin Bryars, Giya Kancheli, and Heinz Holliger.

History

Membership

The group was founded by

Paul Hillier Paul Douglas Hillier OBE (born 9 February 1949) is an English conductor, music director and baritone. He specializes in both early and contemporary classical music, especially that by composers Steve Reich and Arvo Pärt. He was a co-founder of ...

, Errol Girdlestone, Paul Elliott, and

David James Dewi, Dai, Dafydd or David James may refer to: Performers *David James (actor, born 1839) (1839–1893), English stage comic and a founder of London's Vaudeville Theatre *David James (actor, born 1967) (born 1967), Australian presenter of ABC's ''P ...

, although the membership was flexible until Hillier left in 1990. After that, the core members were David James ( counter-tenor), Rogers Covey-Crump (tenor/ high tenor), John Potter (tenor), and Gordon Jones (bass), except that in 1998 John Potter was replaced by Steven Harrold.

Recordings

The Hilliard Ensemble, under Paul Hillier, had an extensive discography with EMI's Reflexe early music series during the 1980s. The ensemble then recorded mainly for the

ECM ECM may refer to: Economics and commerce * Engineering change management * Equity capital markets * Error correction model, an econometric model * European Common Market Mathematics * Elliptic curve method * European Congress of Mathematics ...

label. In 1994, when popular interest in

Gregorian chant Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin (and occasionally Greek) of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed mainly in western and central Europe dur ...

was at its height, the ensemble released the CD '' Officium'', an unprecedented collaboration with the Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek. The disc became one of ECM's biggest-selling releases, reaching the pop charts in several European countries and receiving five gold discs in sales. ''Officium's'' sequel, the 2-CD set ''

Mnemosyne In Greek mythology and ancient Greek religion, Mnemosyne (; grc, Μνημοσύνη, ) is the goddess of memory and the mother of the nine Muses by her nephew Zeus. In the Greek tradition, Mnemosyne is one of the Titans, the twelve divine ch ...

'', followed in 1999. The third album, '' Officium Novum'', was released in 2010. Their recordings have also been included in Craig Wright's ''Listening to Music'' textbook for music students and music appreciation.

Performances

In 2005 the ensemble took part in the Rheingau Musik Festival's composer's portrait of Arvo Pärt, together with the

Rostock Motet Choir The Rostock Motet Choir''Welcome to St.-Johannis-Kirche'' ...

. In 2008 the Hilliard Ensemble premiered

Heiner Goebbels Heiner Goebbels (born 17 August 1952) is a German composer, conductor and professor at Justus-Liebig-University in Gießen and artistic director of the International Festival of the Arts Ruhrtriennale 2012–14. His composition ''Stifters Dinge' ...

' avant-garde staged concert ''I went to the house but did not enter'' at the 2008 Edinburgh International Festival, repeated at the Berliner Festspiele.

New music

In 2009 the ensemble premiered five new works:

Guido Morini Guido Morini (born in Milan in 1959) is an Italian pianist, organist, harpsichordist, musicologist and composer. In the ensemble Accordone he performs early baroque works with singer Marco Beasley. Beasley is also the librettist for his ''Una Od ...

's ''Una Iliade'', Fabio Vacchi's ''Memoria Italiana'', Steffen Schleiermacher's ''Die Beschwörung der Trunkenen Oase'', Simon Bainbridge's ''Tenebrae'' and Wolfgang Rihm's ''Et Lux''. In September 2010 the Hilliard Ensemble joined the London Philharmonic Choir and

Orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

for the world premiere of

Matteo D'Amico Matteo is the Italian language, Italian form of the given name Matthew (name), Matthew. Another form is Mattia. The Hebrew meaning of Matteo is "gift of god". Matteo can also be used as a patronymic surname, often in the forms of de Matteo, De Mat ...

's ''Flight from Byzantium'' at the Royal Festival Hall, London.

Miscellaneous

They also performed three pieces by Guillaume Dufay: ''Moribus et genere'', ''Vergene bella'' and ''Lamentatio sanctae matris ecclesiae Constantinopolitanae''. On 15 November 2010, the group appeared at Church of St. Paul the Apostle in New York to perform Kjartan Sveinsson's ''Cage a Swallow Can’t You but You Can’t Swallow a Cage''.

Disbanding

The Hilliard Ensemble decided to disband after 41 years and gave their final concert on 20 December 2014 at the

Wigmore Hall Wigmore Hall is a concert hall located at 36 Wigmore Street, London. Originally called Bechstein Hall, it specialises in performances of chamber music, early music, vocal music and song recitals. It is widely regarded as one of the world's leadi ...

, London.

Selected discography

Harmonia Mundi

* 1982: '' Cipriano de Rore: Le Vergine'' (LP, HM 1107) * 1982: ''Medieval English Music'' (HMC 901106) * 1983: ''Sumer is icumen in'' (HMC 901154) * 1983: ''The Singing Club'' (HMC 901153)

EMI Reflexe

* 1980: '' Lionel Power: Messen und Motetten'' (LP, EMI Reflexe 1C 069-46 402) * 1982: ''

John Dunstable John Dunstaple (or Dunstable, – 24 December 1453) was an English composer whose music helped inaugurate the transition from the medieval to the Renaissance periods. The central proponent of the '' Contenance angloise'' style (), Dunstaple ...

: Motets'' (EMI Reflexe CDC 7 49002 2) * 1983: ''

Josquin Desprez Josquin Lebloitte dit des Prez ( – 27 August 1521) was a composer of High Renaissance music, who is variously described as French or Franco-Flemish. Considered one of the greatest composers of the Renaissance, he was a central figure of the ...

: Motets and chansons'' (EMI Reflexe CDC 7 49209 2) * 1983: '' Schütz: Matthäus-Passion'' (EMI Reflexe CDC 7 49200 2) * 1984: '' J. S. Bach Motets'' (EMI Reflexe CDC 7 49204 2) with Knabenchor Hannover * 1984: '' Ockeghem: Requiem; Missa Mi-Mi'' (EMI Reflexe CDC 7 49213 2) * 1984: '' Palestrina: Canticum canticorum, Spiritual madrigals'' (EMI Reflexe CDS 7 49010 8) * 1985: ''Schütz: Schwanengesang (Opus ultimum)'' (EMI Reflexe CDS 7 49214 8) with London Baroque and Knabenchor Hannover * 1985: '' Lassus: Penitential Psalms'' (EMI Reflexe CDS 7 49211 8) with the Kees Boeke Consort * 1986: '' Dufay: Missa L'Homme armé, Motets'' (EMI Reflexe CDC 7 47628 2) * 1987: ''Draw on Sweet Night - English Madrigals'' (EMI Reflexe CDC 7 49197 2) * 1988: ''Ockeghem: Missa prolationum and Marian Motets'' (EMI Reflexe CDC 7 49798 2) * 1989: ''Josquin Desprez: Missa Hercules Dux Ferrariae'' (EMI Reflexe CDC 7 49960 2)

Coro

* 1996: ''Perotin and the Ars Antiqua'' (HL 1001) * 1996: ''For Ockeghem'' (HL 1002) music by Ockeghem, Busnois and

Lupi Lupi may refer to: People * Alessandro Lupi (born 1970), Italian former professional footballer manager and former player * Carlos Lupi (born 1957), Brazilian professor and politician * Daniel Lupi (born 1961), American film producer * Darrin Za ...

and translated excerpts from ''Lament on the Death of the Late Ockeghem'' by Guillaume Crétin * 1997: '' Antoine Brumel'' (HL 1003) * 1998: ''Guillaume Dufay - Missa Se la Face ay Pale'' (HL 1004)

ECM

* 1986: ''Thomas Tallis: The Lamentations of Jeremiah'' (

1341) * 1987: ''Arbos'' (ECM 1325) with the Staatsorchester Stuttgart Brass Ensemble under Dennis Russell Davies performing works of Arvo Pärt * 1988: ''Passio'' (ECM 1370) performing works of Pärt * 1989: ''Perotin'' (ECM 1385) performing works of Perotin * 1991: ''Tenebrae'' (ECM 1422–23) performing works of

Carlo Gesualdo Carlo Gesualdo da Venosa ( – 8 September 1613) was Prince of Venosa and Count of Conza. As a composer he is known for writing madrigals and pieces of sacred music that use a chromatic language not heard again until the late 19th cent ...

* 1991: ''Miserere'' (ECM 1430) performing works of Pärt * 1993: ''The Hilliard Ensemble Sings

Walter Frye Walter Frye (died 1474?) was an English composer of the early Renaissance. Life Nothing certain is known about his life. He may have been a "Walter Cantor" at Ely Cathedral between 1443 and 1466, and he may have been the Walter Frye who joine ...

'' (ECM 1476) * 1994: '' Officium'' (ECM 1525) with Jan Garbarek (Part 1 of the ''Officium''-trilogy) * 1995: ''Codex Speciálník'' (ECM 1504) * 1996: ''A Hilliard Songbook - New Music for Voices'' (ECM 1614–15) * 1998: ''Lassus'' (ECM 1658) performing works of

Orlande de Lassus Orlande de Lassus ( various other names; probably – 14 June 1594) was a composer of the late Renaissance. The chief representative of the mature polyphonic style in the Franco-Flemish school, Lassus stands with Giovanni Pierluigi da Pale ...

* 1999: ''

'' (ECM 1700–01) with Jan Garbarek (Part 2 of the ''Officium''-trilogy) * 2001: ''Morimur'' (ECM 1765) with

Christoph Poppen Christoph Poppen (born 9 March 1956) is a German conductor, violinist and academic teacher. Career Poppen was born in Münster. As a violinist, he was awarded first prize in the Kocian Violin Competition age 14. He studied the violin with Kur ...

* 2003: ''Ricercar'' (ECM 1774) with Christoph Poppen and Münchener Kammerorchester performing works of

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

and

Webern Anton Friedrich Wilhelm von Webern (3 December 188315 September 1945), better known as Anton Webern (), was an Austrian composer and conductor whose music was among the most radical of its milieu in its sheer concision, even aphorism, and stea ...

* 2003: ''Tituli - Cathedral in the Thrashing Rain'' (ECM 1861) performing works of

Stephen Hartke Stephen Paul Hartke (born July 6, 1952) is an American composer. Hartke is best known as the composer of ''Meanwhile – Incidental Music to Imaginary Puppet Plays,'' winner of the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition in 2013 ...

* 2004: ''Motets'' (ECM 2324) performing works of

Guillaume de Machaut Guillaume de Machaut (, ; also Machau and Machault; – April 1377) was a French composer and poet who was the central figure of the style in late medieval music. His dominance of the genre is such that modern musicologists use his death to ...

* 2005: ''Lamentate'' (ECM 1930) with

Alexei Lubimov Alexei Lubimov (born 1944 as Алексе́й Бори́сович Люби́мов, Alexey Borisovich Lyubimov) is a Russian pianist, fortepianist and harpsichordist. Lubimov studied at the Moscow Conservatory with Heinrich Neuhaus and Lev Na ...

performing works of Pärt * 2007: '' Motetten'' (ECM 1875) performing works of Bach * 2008: ''Audivi Vocem'' (ECM 1936) performing works of

Thomas Tallis Thomas Tallis (23 November 1585; also Tallys or Talles) was an English composer of High Renaissance music. His compositions are primarily vocal, and he occupies a primary place in anthologies of English choral music. Tallis is considered one o ...

Christopher Tye Christopher Tye (c.1505 – before 1573) was an English Renaissance composer and organist. Probably born in Cambridgeshire, he trained at the University of Cambridge and became the master of the choir at Ely Cathedral. He is noted as the mus ...

and John Sheppard * 2010: '' Officium Novum'' (ECM 2125) with Jan Garbarek (Part 3 of the ''Officium''-trilogy) * 2011: ''Song of Songs'' (ECM 2174) with the

Rosamunde Quartett The Rosamunde Quartett was a German string quartet ensemble formed in 1992 and dissolved in 2009. It was named after Franz Schubert's String Quartet No. 13 and the incidental music ''Rosamunde'' on which the slow movement of this piece is base ...

performing works of

Boris Yoffe Boris Yoffe (born 21 December 1968 in St. Petersburg) is a Russian-born Israeli composer, resident of Karlsruhe, Germany. Biography Boris Yoffe initially studied violin but turned to composing early, premiering his first works in the St. Petersb ...

* 2012: ''Quinto Libro di Madrigali'' (ECM 2175) performing works of Gesualdo * 2013: ''

Terje Rypdal Terje Rypdal (born 23 August 1947) is a Norwegian guitarist and composer. He has been an important member in the Norwegian jazz community, and has also given show concerts with guitarists Ronni Le Tekrø and Mads Eriksen as "N3". Career Rypdal ...

: Melodic Warrior'' (ECM 2006) * 2013: ''Il Cor Tristo'' (ECM 2346) performing works of

Roger Marsh Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ...

Bernardo Pisano Bernardo Pisano (also Pagoli) (October 12, 1490 – January 23, 1548) was an Italian composer, priest, singer, and scholar of the Renaissance. He was one of the first madrigalists, and the first composer anywhere to have a printed collection ...

and

Jacques Arcadelt Jacques Arcadelt (also Jacob Arcadelt; 14 October 1568) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance, active in both Italy and France, and principally known as a composer of secular vocal music. Although he also wrote sacred vocal music, he ...

* 2014: ''

Transeamus ''Transeamus'' ("We travel on") is an album by the Hilliard Ensemble recorded in November 2012 and released on the ECM New Series in October 2014—the quartet's final album. Composition On this album, the Hilliard Ensemble sings a collection ...

'' (ECM 2408) * 2015: '' Heinz Holliger: Machaut-Transkriptionen'' (ECM 2224) with Geneviève Strosser, Jürg Dähler and Muriel Cantoreggi * 2019: ''Remember me, my dear'' (ECM 2625) with Jan Garbarek

Other labels

* 1983: ''Madrigals by Luca Marenzio'' (University of East Anglia Recordings UEA 82126) * 1988: ''Music from the time of Christian IV. Church Music at Court and in Town'' (BIS CD-389) * 1990: ''The Romantic Englishman'' (Meridian Records DUOCD 89009) * 1996: ''Sweet Love, Sweet Hope'' (Isis Records CD030) * 1997: ''

Cristóbal de Morales Cristóbal de Morales (c. 1500 – between 4 September and 7 October 1553) was a Spanish composer of the Renaissance. He is generally considered to be the most influential Spanish composer before Tomás Luis de Victoria. Life Cristóbal de Mor ...

: Missa Mille Regretz'' (Almaviva DS-0101) * 2013: ''Prayers and Praise. Vocal music by Alexander Raskatov'' (Challenge Classics CC72578) * 2016: ''Roger Marsh: Poor Yorick'' (CMRC001) * 2017: ''Trans Limen ad Lumen'' (Divox CDX-21702) * 2019: '' John Casken: The Dream of the Rood'' (NMC Recordings NMC D245) with Asko/Schönberg

References

External links

The Hilliard Ensemble

The Hilliard Ensemble
agent Hazard Chase Ltd

bach-cantatas.com

discography, medieval.org
The Hilliard Ensemble Unofficial FanSite

The Hilliard Ensemble
(Official website) via archive.org retrieved 28 August 2015
The Hilliard Ensemble biography by Timothy Dickey, discography and album reviews, credits & releases
at

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

The Hilliard Ensemble discography, album releases & credits
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

The Hilliard Ensemble albums to be listened
as stream on

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{{Authority control British early music ensembles Early music choirs British choirs ECM Records artists Virgin Veritas artists Musical groups established in 1974 Vocal quartets Medieval musical groups Erato Records artists