Paul Hillier/Fragments

Track Listings

1. Laudate novella (Anonymous)
2. Venite a laudare
3. Credo Deus Deorum (Antonio Zachara da Teramo)
4. Ave sancta mundi salus/Agnus Dei (Matteo Da Perugia)
5. Benedicamus
6. Sanctus (Anonymous)
7. Communion Hymn for Mid-Pentecost (John Plousiadenos)
8. Canon for the Council of Florence (Ode 5)
9. Enite ton Kychirion (Hymn) (Manuel Gazes)
10. Dnes Hristos (Anonymous)
11. Blazhen muzh
12. Vozbrannoy voyevode
13. Izhe heruvimi (The Cherubic Hymn)
14. Worldes Blis ne Last No Throwe
15. Beata viscera
16. Salve sancta parens/Salve mater/Salve lux/Salve sine spina
17. Salve virgo virginum
18. Virgo Maria, patrem parit/O stella/Flos genuit/Virgo Maria, flos
19. Sanctus
20. Alleluya V Nativitas

See all 21 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
On this fine new CD from Paul Hillier's Theatre of Voices, the group examines music beginning with the period during which the Christian Church became "fragmented" by schism; that is, when it became centered in Rome on the one side and Constantinople on the other (represented by Orthodox music from Russia and Greece). These are the two most dramatic examples, although England and France are covered as well.

One possible cavil: it's doubtful that the Eastern music was (or is) performed as it's done on this disc. The selections sound more Western than, say, the way I have heard Russian groups intone the same music and not as "authentic" as Marcel Peres's ravishing stab at Corsican chant. That said, this music, from the 12th century to the 17th century, is glorious to listen to under any circumstances. One would have to be either a rigid scholar of the period or a cleric with a point to prove not to enjoy it. The rich textures are artfully brought out by the six men's voices, and one is left with just the right (out of context) devotional impressions. Early music and chant aficionados will bathe comfortably in the sounds presented here. --Robert Levine

Paul Hillier/Fragments, Music, Theatre of Voices, Paul Hillier, Anonymous, Perotinus, Matteo Da Perugia, Antonio Zachara da Teramo, Manuel Gazes, John Plousiadenos, Choral, Choral Music, Classical, Classical Artists, Classical Music, Early Music / Chant, Early Polyphony, Medieval Mass, Miscellaneous, Miscellaneous Music, Sacred Choral Music, Vocal, Vocal Music

Average customer rating:

Monastic Chant: 12th & 13th C. European Sacred Music Manufacturer: Harmonia Mundi Fr. ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Machaut | Machaut, Guillaume de | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Early Music | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Vocal & Song | Early Music | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music | Requiems General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Classical | Imports | Stores | Music Similar Items: Antoine Busnois: Missa O Crux lignum; Motets; Chansons Ars subtilior: Dawn of the Renaissance The Rose, the Lily & the Whortleberry (Medieval Gardens in Music) Josquin Desprez: Motets & Chansons ASIN: B0000APHOA Release Date: 2003-11-11

Average customer rating: Interesting concept, mostly enjoyable and very well recorded Smishkewych has done it again!

Paul Hillier/Fragments Theatre of Voices , Paul Hillier , Anonymous , Perotinus , Matteo Da Perugia , Antonio Zachara da Teramo , Manuel Gazes , and John Plousiadenos Manufacturer: Harmonia Mundi ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Early Music | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Vocal & Song | Early Music | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music | Requiems General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Oratorios | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Classical | Imports | Stores | Music ASIN: B0000631BR Release Date: 2002-04-09

Tracks:

1. Laudate novella (Anonymous)
2. Venite a laudare
3. Credo Deus Deorum (Antonio Zachara da Teramo)
4. Ave sancta mundi salus/Agnus Dei (Matteo Da Perugia)
5. Benedicamus
6. Sanctus (Anonymous)
7. Communion Hymn for Mid-Pentecost (John Plousiadenos)
8. Canon for the Council of Florence (Ode 5)
9. Enite ton Kychirion (Hymn) (Manuel Gazes)
10. Dnes Hristos (Anonymous)
11. Blazhen muzh
12. Vozbrannoy voyevode
13. Izhe heruvimi (The Cherubic Hymn)
14. Worldes Blis ne Last No Throwe
15. Beata viscera
16. Salve sancta parens/Salve mater/Salve lux/Salve sine spina
17. Salve virgo virginum
18. Virgo Maria, patrem parit/O stella/Flos genuit/Virgo Maria, flos
19. Sanctus
20. Alleluya V Nativitas
21. Gradual: Viderunt omnes V Notum fecit Dominus (Perotinus)

Amazon.com

One possible cavil: it's doubtful that the Eastern music was (or is) performed as it's done on this disc. The selections sound more Western than, say, the way I have heard Russian groups intone the same music and not as "authentic" as Marcel Peres's ravishing stab at Corsican chant. That said, this music, from the 12th century to the 17th century, is glorious to listen to under any circumstances. One would have to be either a rigid scholar of the period or a cleric with a point to prove not to enjoy it. The rich textures are artfully brought out by the six men's voices, and one is left with just the right (out of context) devotional impressions. Early music and chant aficionados will bathe comfortably in the sounds presented here. --Robert Levine

Customer Reviews:

Interesting concept, mostly enjoyable and very well recorded.......2002-09-17

The pieces themselves are samples of chant and polyphony from Italy (1-5), Greece (6-9), Russia (10-13), England (14-20) and France (21). Hillier, director of the Theatre of Voices, writes that the program was conceived of as an "abstract design" highlighting "certain elements of feeling and sonority" which the different musical traditions represented here have in common. This is certainly an interesting idea, but I am not sure it entirely succeeds. It sometimes seems that at least some of the commonalities we hear are forced on the music, and so are more a feature of the performances than of the music itself. The Greek chant in particular barely sounds Greek at all after you've listened to a group such as the excellent Greek Byzantine Choir. Furthermore, I can't quite lose the feeling that I'm listening to a kind of "greatest hits" programme. That said, this recording could definitely serve as a very nice introduction to the world of chant and early polyphony for a newcomer, or as an enjoyable traversal of different styles for someone more familiar with them (even if perhaps they don't sound as different as they should).

The Theatre of Voices here consists of one countertenor, three tenors, and two baritones, including Hillier himself. The group has a very alluring sound, and the six men sound completely natural together. Questions of authenticity aside, the group sings each set of selections convincingly. The performances of Greek and Russian chant are enjoyable on their own terms, and it is particularly easy to lose oneself in the Italian and English selections. Perotin's polyphonic masterwork "Viderunt omnes," representing the French tradition, is well performed, though the music itself rather overshadows the other selections (which it actually antedates) in its sophistication. For Perotin, however, the competition is especially strong, and if one is considering this recording for "Viderunt Omnes," one would do better with the Hilliard Ensemble (also directed by Hillier), whose exquisite, liquid subtlety probably succeeds better than the Theatre of Voices' more driven performance.

One certain reason to like "Fragments" is the excellent quality of the recording, which was made in the St. Osdag Church, Neustadt-Mandelsloh, Germany. I cannot think of any pure vocal recording I've heard with more natural and accurate balance and spatial definition, a feature which tends to make the group's cohesion all the more impressive.

Smishkewych has done it again!.......2002-04-15

Track Listings:

1. Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Symphonies Nos. 1-6 - Mikhail Pletnev [Box set]
2. Petitgirard - Joseph Merrick de Elephant Man / Stutzmann · Rivenq · Breault · Koch · Devellereau · Petitgirard
3. Pfitzner: Palestrina [Import]
4. Plays U2 [Import]
5. Rimsky-Korsakov: Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh
6. Romanian Poem / Rhapsody 1 & 2
7. Rubbra: Symphony No. 2; Symphony No. 6
8. Schnittke: Music for the Movies [Soundtrack]
9. Schoenberg: Gurrelieder / Voigt, Larmore, Moser, Riegel, Weikl, K.M. Brandauer; Sinopoli
10. Schubert: Works for Violin and Piano

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