The Hilliard Ensemble

"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)

As James MacMillan celebrates his 50th birthday he here conducts his large-scale, complex work, The Quickening coupled with the symphonic suite The Sacrifice: Three Interludes, taken from his opera, The Sacrifice, a work based on a medieval Welsh tale and focusing on issues of love and conflict. Co-commissioned by the BBC Proms and the Philadelphia Orchestra, The Quickening sets poetry by MacMillan’s frequent collaborator Michael Symmons Roberts. Hailed as some of the most distinguished writing since that of Benjamin Britten, the powerfully imaginative score explores the themes of birth, new life and new impulses, but as MacMillan says, it also has its dark side out of which hope is glimpsed. Joining the BBC Philharmonic is the Hilliard Ensemble, who premiered the work at the BBC Proms, accompanied by the City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus and Youth Chorus.

John Dunstaple (c. 1390-1453) - Musician to the Plantagenets - Orlando Consort (1995) {Metronome METCD1009}
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© 1995 Metronome Recordings | METCD1009
Classical / Medieval / Early Renaissance / Polyphony / Choral

John Dunstaple was one of the most celebrated composers of the medieval period. Tantalisingly little is known about him, and what little is known is tantalising. He served in the courts of the family of Henry V and two pieces here were performed in Canterbury Cathedral to celebrate Henry V's victory at Agincourt. The booklet includes illustrations from the only known surviving Dunstaple autograph manuscript, an astronomical treatise in Emmanuel College library. "A treasure trove of unfamiliar and little heard masterpieces, this imaginative record is a model of what can be achieved when scholars and performers genuinely collaborate"