Paul Hillier - download (MP3 & FLAC)

“Sorensen achieves a convincing transition between the two styles, using the plainchant as a kind of mediation...Sorensen specifies the positioning of the choir and individual voices: the outstanding performances and recording vividly bring out this spatial aspect of the music in both SACD and stereo” BBC Music Magazine, October 2012 *****

“Paul Hillier was the Hilliard's director when they recorded Ockeghem's Requiem and his view of the work has hardly changed, though the ensemble he now leads is very different. So, rather than reinvent the wheel, Hillier intersperses its movements...with pieces by the Danish composer Bent Sorensen...Those who know their polyphony, by the way, will enjoy Sorensen's splicing and looping together of Sanctus settings by Monteverdi and Ockeghem.” Gramophone Magazine, July 2012

“Anne Boyd's As I crossed a bridge of dreams (1975) gives its title to the CD and, with its rapt sostenuto, steals the show. Almost endlessly sustained, immaculately imagined, and - like everything else here - admirably performed.” Gramophone Magazine, February 2012

“This is an intriguing disc of barely known and often very beautiful music by composers from Australisia, the United States and China. It would be hard, I think, to imagine music more transparent than that of Lou Harrison's Mass for Saint Cecilia's Day...The music's transparency and long-breathed quality give every opportunity for the voices of Ars Nova to shine in a very particular way, really as chamber soloists.” International Record Review, February 2012

“The heaviest responsibility rests with the Evangelist, superbly done by Podger. Though he rises to moments of great dramatic oratory in places...most of his account is delivered in measured tone and pace...Ars Nova Copenhagen's impeccable intonation creates a vibrant sonority at moments of cadential repose. Jespersen's Christus is deeply felt” BBC Music Magazine, July 2011 ****

“Ars Nova Copenhagen and Paul Hillier make a good case here for what it, on the surface, pretty dry music. Aside from the very well-handled choral interjections (you wait for them, and boy, how they move you when they arrive!) the conductor initiates a steady build up of tension over this hour-long musical journey.” Classic FM Magazine, June 2011 ***

“Julian Podger matches the sparseness of Schutz's plainsong-like lines...with suitably restrained vocal production...What keeps the attention here is the way that all the solo singers - including those drawn from choir for the minor roles - inject just enough urgency and drama into their singing for us to feel the power of the unfolding story, but not so much as to disturb the work's underlying serenity and understatement...A hair-shirt Easter treat.” International Record Review, April 2011

“So plain is the story-telling that the Evangelist (the excellent Julian Podger) sings his familiar narration, deftly inflected, unaccompanied throughout; the touches of expressiveness from the choral interjections are all the more powerful, and the theological understanding is profound.” The Observer, 17th April 2011

“The performances are absolutely faultless: Gundmundsen-Holmgreen must have been beside himself with pleasure at the result. Paul Hillier and his singers are in complete command of every element: pitch, tempo, structure - from the smallest detail to the vault of the programme as a whole, their technical mastery is astonishing...It left me slack-jawed with admiration.” International Record Review, March 2011

“Singing one-to-a-part, they produce splendidly full tone...These fine cantatas show that Buxtehude was much more than just a predecessor of Bach. The performances are both spirited and spiritual, and there's a bonus in two substantial pieces for organ.” Classic FM Magazine, February 2011 ****

“The Theatre of Voices convey a compelling atmosphere of drama, commitment and plangent sonorities in Buxtehude's setting of Pangue lingua gloriosi...and the introductory sonata to the psalm Ecce nunc benedicite is played with refined joyfulness.” Gramophone Magazine, March 2011

“The ability the Theatre of Voices personnel have of blending themselves into a cogent chamber choir...is possibly their most notable attribute...With immaculate clarity of line, with a perfect balance between instruments and voices and with superlative shaping of the individual lines, Hillier producers some thoroughly invigorating and totally absorbing accounts” International Record Review, December 2010

“[Theatre of Voices] breathe new life into this stimulating but neglected 17th-century repertoire, aided by the splendidly crisp TOV band. Soprano Else Torp, countertenor William Purefoy and bass Jakob Bloch Jespersen shine among the singers. Highly recommended.” The Observer, 24th October 2010

“Paul Hillier paces the narrative subtly, from down-to-earth description to slow contemplation...The singers, admirably matched, are helped by the church acoustic, which warms the tone without obscuring detail...the simplicity of the bare, unadorned line is hauntingly beautiful and enhanced by excellent recording.” BBC Music Magazine, June 2010 *****

“The five singers of Ars Nova Copenhagen blend beautifully in the deeply expressive Introitus and the fantastic quality of consort singing is no more notable than the touching communication of the text. Each singer performs their solo lines insightfully...this spellbinding performance is well worth acquiring.” Gramophone Magazine, August 2010

“The performance [of Stravinsky's Octet] here is beautifully executed with a delightful and exuberant finale.” BBC Music Magazine, June 2010 ****

“The performance is first-rate throughout. Natural, tractable voices create characterful images - in the Christmas Story, Else Torp an ethereal angel, Jakob Bloch Jespersen a sneering Herod. The major roles of Evangelist are well narrated, in both Historien, with a natural speech rhythm paced to match the changing moods. A disc to cherish.” BBC Music Magazine, February 2010 *****

“Ars Nova Copenhagen reaffirms its status as an outstanding vocal ensemble with luminous and pure choral singing. Its members also provide excellent solos...Hillier paces and shapes Schütz's music to perfection...Schütz recordings of such ardent beauty are much too rare, so this is not to be missed.” Gramophone Magazine, June 2010

“The splendid Ars Nova Copenhagen, directed by the sensitive Paul Hillier, provide here totally compelling recordings of Schutz's inspired settings of the Christmas Oratorio and the History of the Resurrection...the solo singing is very fine, especially the radiant-voiced soprano, Else Torp.” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition