Christopher Hilliard

"This music comes from far away. It was surely heard in Gothic and Romanesque cathedrals, in the Roman catacombs or in Daniel's lion's den. It is a music that does not seek to convince, to overwhelm, to incite revolt - it gently insists on its differentness, its distance from all actionan and triumphant modernity; it speaks of many things that are lost - but of many more things that are merely hidden, and therefore not lost. " (Peter Hamm)

100 Best Sacred Works (2007)
Unknown Rip | FLAC (Tracks+Cue) | No Covers | 7 hours | 1.93 GB (6CD)
Genre: Sacred | Label: EMI Classics

This 6CD collection features works from Byrd to Barber via Brahms and provides a fascinating insight into the evolution of sacred music.

The four members of New York Polyphony here present a programme which explores the themes of grief, loss and mortality. Apart from the work by Jackson Hill on Guillaume de Machaut’s famous 14th century rondeau Ma fin… and two examples of plainsong, all works included on this disc, the ensemble’s first on BIS, were composed by masters of the Franco-Flemish school of polyphony from the first half of the 16th century. Most of this music was partly used liturgically: the two Gregorian chants Libera me and In paradisum both form part of the Roman Catholic burial service.