JAN GARBAREK / THE HILLIARD ENSEMBLE - Officium (1994) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Fearlessly searching for new conceptions of sound and not caring where he found them, Garbarek joined hands with the classical early-music movement, improvising around the four male voices of the Hilliard Ensemble. Now here was a radical idea guaranteed to infuriate both hardcore jazz buffs and the even more pristine more-authentic-than-thou folk in early music circles. Yet this unlikely fusion works stunningly well -- and even more hearteningly, went over the heads of the purists and became a hit album at a time (1994) when Gregorian chants were a hot item. Chants, early polyphonic music, and Renaissance motets by composers like Morales and Dufay form the basic material, bringing forth a cool yet moving spirituality in Garbarek's work. Recorded in a heavily reverberant Austrian monastery, the voices sometimes develop in overwhelming waves, and Garbarek rides their crest, his soprano sax soaring in the monastery acoustic, or he underscores the voices almost unobtrusively, echoing the voices, finding ample room to move around the modal harmonies yet applying his sound sparingly. Those with nervous metabolisms may become impatient with this undefinable music, but if you give it a chance, it will seduce you, too. by Richard S. Ginell  
Tracklist:
1    Parce mihi domine 6:42
Cristóbal de Morales
2    Primo tempore 8:03   
Anonymous / Anonymous, Czech
3    Sanctus 4:44
Anonymous / Anonymous, Czech    
4    Regnanten Sempiterna 5:36
Gregorian Chant
5    O Salutaris Hostia 4:34
Pierre de la Rue
6    Procedentem sponsum 2:50
Anonymous / Anonymous, Hungarian
7    Pulcherrima rosa 6:55
Anonymous / Anonymous, Czech
8    Parce mihi domine 5:35
Cristóbal de Morales
9    Beata viscera, conductus for solo voice 6:34
Pérotin
10    De spineto nata rosa 2:30
Anonymous / Anonymous, English
11    Credo 2:06   
Anonymous / Anonymous, Czech
12    Ave maris stella, hymn for 3 voices (2 versions) 4:14   
Guillaume Dufay
13    Virgo flagellatur (School of Perotinus) 5:19   
Anonymous
14    Oratio Ieremiae 5:00   
Gregorian Chant
15    Parce mihi domine 6:52   
Cristóbal de Morales
Credits:
Baritone Vocals – Gordon Jones
Countertenor Vocals – David James
Ensemble – The Hilliard Ensemble
Producer [Produced By] – Manfred Eicher
Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone – Jan Garbarek
Tenor Vocals – John Potter, Rogers Covey-Crump

JAN GARBAREK / THE HILLIARD ENSEMBLE - Mnemosyne (1999) 2xCD / FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Garbarek and the Hilliard Ensemble waited nearly five years before trying to follow up their surprisingly successful Officium album, but finally they came through with an even more adventurous two-CD set of jazzman-meets-early-music-voices. Here, their range straddles no less than three milleniums (just missing a fourth by a couple of years), from the "Delphic Paean" of Athenaeus circa 127 B.C. to a lullaby by the contemporary Estonian composer Veljo Tormis, with intervening contributions by Hildegard von Bingen, William Billings, and Thomas Tallis, Iroquois Indians, Basque and Peruvian folksongs, and many more far-flung choices. Most daringly, the four voices themselves now start to improvise on scraps of ancient material culled from old book bindings and the like, though it's hard to determine exactly where this occurs (probably during some passages of wordless vocalise). Ultimately, despite the freer methods, the results are often pretty much the same as Officium on disc one -- soothing, timeless sonic frescos reverberantly recorded in the same Austrian St. Gerold monastery, with Garbarek soaring over or threading through the texture ever more sparingly. Yet on disc two, Garbarek and the Hilliards start to move into other worlds, breaking into something more disturbing and even atonal in that ancient "Delphic Paean," the syncopated harmonies of Garbarek's own "Loiterando," or a strange-sounding Russian Psalm from the 16th century. This is a collaboration in transition, and one hopes it will continue to evolve. by Richard S. Ginell 
Tracklist 1 :
1    Quechua Song 7:12
Composed By – Jan Garbarek, Hilliard Ensemble
Composed By [Peruvian Folksong Fragment] – Traditional
2    O Lord In Thee Is All My Trust 5:09
Composed By – Jan Garbarek, Hilliard Ensemble, Thomas Tallis
3    Estonian Lullaby 1:58
Composed By – Veljo Tormis
4    Remember Me My Dear 6:30
Composed By – Jan Garbarek, Hilliard Ensemble
Composed By [16th Century Scotland] – Traditional
5    Gloria 6:03
Composed By – Guillaume Dufay
6    Fayrfax Africanus 4:05
Composed By – Jan Garbarek, Hilliard Ensemble
Composed By [St Albans / Great Dunmow] – Traditional
7    Agnus Dei 8:38
Composed By – Antoine Brumel, Jan Garbarek, Hilliard Ensemble
8    Novus Novus 2:18
Composed By – Jan Garbarek, Hilliard Ensemble
Composed By [13th Centuy France] – Traditional
9    Se Je Fays Dueil 5:12
Composed By – Guillaume Le Rouge, Jan Garbarek, Hilliard Ensemble
10    O Ignis Spiritus 10:53
Composed By – Hildegard Von Bingen, Jan Garbarek, Hilliard Ensemble
Tracklist 2 :
1    Alleluia Nativitatis 5:06
Composed By – Jan Garbarek, Hilliard Ensemble
Composed By [13th Century England] – Traditional
2    Delphic Paean 4:46
Composed By – Jan Garbarek, Hilliard Ensemble
Composed By [127 BC] – Athenaeus
3    Strophe And Counter-Strophe 5:02
Composed By – Jan Garbarek
4    Mascarados 5:02
Composed By – Jan Garbarek, Hilliard Ensemble
Composed By [Basque Folksong Fragments] – Traditional
5    Loiterando 5:33
Composed By – Jan Garbarek
6    Estonian Lullaby 2:01
Composed By – Veljo Tormis
7    Russian Psalm 3:45
Composed By – Jan Garbarek, Hilliard Ensemble
Composed By [16th Century Russia] – Traditional
8    Eagle Dance 4:48
Composed By – Jan Garbarek, Hilliard Ensemble
Composed By [Iroquois & Padleirmiut Fragments] – Traditional
9    When Jesus Wept 3:22
Composed By – Jan Garbarek, Hilliard Ensemble, William Billings
10    Hymn To The Sun 7:28
Composed By – Jan Garbarek, Hilliard Ensemble
Composed By [2nd Century Greece] – Mesomedes
Credits:
Baritone Vocals – Gordon Jones
Countertenor Vocals – David James
Design [Cover Design] – Sascha Kleis
Ensemble – The Hilliard Ensemble
Producer – Manfred Eicher
Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone – Jan Garbarek
Tenor Vocals – John Potter, Rogers Covey-Crump
Text By [Mnemosyne Poem] – Friedrich Hölderlin
Note
"Thanks to Ingmar Bergman for many things, including these images from his film The Seventh Seal." M.E.
 

J. S. BACH : Morimur (The Hilliard Ensemble-Christoph Poppen) (2001) APE (image+.cue), lossless

It was quite popular, in the Baroque era, to use numbers and equations for riddles and the hiding of messages; and the study of J.S. Bach's work has revealed that he used numbers symbolic of notes in the major and minor scales formulated into equations and then composed his works around these equations. It was with one such series of equations that researchers found that inside of J.S. Bach's music there was a large number of other compositions almost fractally entwined. Of particular interest was J.S. Bach's "Six Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin" which had been designed with a sort-of numeric equation that turned out to actually have the music fractally built around a very small part. Intrigued by researcher's findings Christoph Poppen discussed with ECM Records head and producer Manfred Eicher the possibility of a recording that would make the "hidden chorales" as the smaller, fractal pieces were later termed, more audible. A collaboration with the excellently gifted interpreters of early music, the Hilliard Ensemble was proposed and with Christoph Poppen directing they set about liberating the numeric/ melodic equations from the fabric of J.S. Bach's "Partita No. 2". With Morimur for the first time we hear the music the way that J.S. Bach might have heard it when he was composing his "Partita No. 2 as they are linked with various chorales that also used the numeric equation that is found in "Partita No. 2". Beyond the fascinating story behind Morimur it's an excellently well crafted, and well-produced recording that truly brings the piece to life. If you're a fan of J.S. Bach it is recommended that you give this recording a listen as it is fantastic and excellently read with the Hilliard Ensemble in top form. A must have for your collection!. by Matt Borghi

ARVO PÄRT : Arbos (1987) APE (image+.cue), lossless

Pärt's 1987 release, Arbos, shows the composer working within his medium, bringing forth a body of music sacred in sound and message and presenting new compositional techniques. Utilizing a limited palette of tones, arranged in repeating patterns, these works are often (understandably) categorized with the works of Glass, Reich, and Riley. The tonal palette is often borrowed from European medieval styles, and this, in conjunction with the liturgical subject matter, make these new compositions feel centuries old. His Pari Intervello, originally scored in 1978 for wind instruments, is here recorded for solo organ. One of his more famous pieces, Stabat Mater, is presented here -- an airy piece that floats just on the threshold of awareness. Scored for vocal trio and string trio, this is a simply beautiful piece -- very expressive and lilting. by Mark Allender

ARVO PÄRT - Passio (1988) APE (image+.cue), lossless

Pärt's long-form The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ According to St. John dramatizes the apostle John's account of the arrest and crucifixion of Jesus. The form he adopts sounds as though it were centuries old, with its choral orchestration. But his choice of instruments, his choice of chords, his phrasing, and the basic construction of the piece itself are all based on 20th century ideas, most notably his own innovation, the "tintinnabuli" method. The overall sound is significantly bigger than the small ensemble performing it; this is an innovative work, despite the classic subject matter. The text is taken verbatim from the Vulgate. by Mark Allender

Tracklist:
1 Passio Domini Nostri Jesu Christi Secundum Joannem 70:52
Credits:
Baritone Vocals [Evangelist Quartet] – Gordon Jones
Bass Vocals [Jesus] – Michael George
Bassoon – Catherine Duckett
Cello – Elisabeth Wilson
Choir – The Western Wind Chamber Choir
Composed By – Arvo Pärt
Conductor – Paul Hillier
Countertenor Vocals [Evangelist Quartet] – David James
Ensemble – The Hilliard Ensemble
Oboe – Melinda Maxwell
Organ – Christopher Bowers-Broadbent
Producer [Produced By] – Manfred Eicher
Soprano Vocals [Evangelist Quartet] – Lynne Dawson
Tenor Vocals [Evangelist Quartet] – Rogers Covey-Crump
Tenor Vocals [Pilate] – John Potter
Violin – Elizabeth Layton