Scattered Rhymes
Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Paul Hillier (director) Machaut's extraordinary Messe de Nostre Dame was
not only the first complete mass setting in history, but
also the first whose composer can be identified,
making it emblematic of the Ars Nova style of the
14th century. In this recording, the Orlando Consort
performs the mass in parallel with a work by Tarik
O'Regan (born in 1978) which was inspired by it. Scattered Rhymes links two texts from the same period as
Machaut's mass, one by Petrarch, the other an anonymous English poem. Both of them subtly combine earthly
and divine love, while the music blends polyphonic tradition and contemporary inspiration.
Scattered Rhymes was commissioned by the Spitalfields Festival and first performed with The Joyful Company of
Singers. O'Regan's Douce dame jolie was commissioned by the Orlando Consort. Super flumina by Gavin Bryars
was commissioned by the National Centre for Early Music,York. Ave Regina celorum by Guillaume Dufay is sung
from an edition by Gareth Curtis.
Two-time British Composer Award winner Tarik O'Regan was educated at Oxford University and completed
his postgraduate studies at Cambridge. He now divides his time between Trinity College, Cambridge, where he
is Fellow Commoner in Creative Arts, and New York City, where he has held the Fulbright Chester Schirmer
Fellowship at Columbia University and a Radcliffe Institute Fellowship at Harvard.
Gavin Bryars, born in Yorkshire, was first of all a jazz bassist and pioneer of free improvisation with Derek
Bailey and Tony Oxley. His early iconic works The Sinking of the Titanic (1969) and Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me
Yet (1971), both enjoyed major recording success. He has written extensively for early music performers such
as the Hilliard Ensemble, Red Byrd and Trio Medieval, and for the Estonian National Male Choir and the Latvian
Radio Choir.
The Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir's repertoire ranges from Gregorian chant to 20th-century music,
with special emphasis on Estonian composers like Arvo Pärt and Veljo Tormis. Many of the Choir's recordings
have received the highest critical acclaim, including 5 Grammy nominations and a Grammy Award (Arvo Pärt,
Da Pacem).Their conductor, Paul Hillier enjoys close creative relationships with a number of contemporary
composers, most notably Steve Reich and Arvo Pärt. In 2007, he prepared Stockhausen's Stimmung with
Theatre of Voices for a UK tour and subsequent recording.
Since its formation in 1988, the award-winning Orlando Consort has been hailed as the most imaginative
champion of vocal music of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance; it now records exclusively for harmonia
mundi USA. “The four male voices of the Orlando Consort bring vigour and tonal variety to Machaut's Messe de Notre Dame, and its tenor Mark Dobell gives a lilting account of the composer's song Douce dame jolie. Tarik O'Regan's Virelai on the same tune then makes playful, contrapuntal use of its melodies.
His Scattered Rhymes, inspired by the Mass, pairs the Consort in medieval English poetry with Paul Hillier's choir in texts by Petrarch: a vivid meditation on earthly and divine love. The Consort's perceptive accounts of Du Fay's Ave Regina celorum and Gavin Bryars's Super flumina complete the picture.” The Telegraph, 10th May 2008 “This collection has been programmed with considerable care. Machaut's glorious Messe de Nostre Dame forms its centre, both in terms of its musical substance and its famously provocative rhythmic and harmonic structure.” BBC Music Magazine, June 2008 ***** “Vocal treats in a meeting of old-fashioned sense and modern sensuality” Gramophone Magazine, October 2008  BBC Music Magazine
Choral & Song Choice - June 2008 |
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