The Whole Music Experience

  If you take a look at my classical and early music list for 2011, you'll see that classical music is here to stay and diverse as ever.  I considered including an Indian classical CD on this list then added it to the Best World and Jazz Albums of 2011 list instead.  And yes, I find the music on this list healing. 1.      San Francisco Symphony with Michael Thomas and Emanuel Ax, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, San Francisco Symphony 2.      Stephen Hough and Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Grieg and Liszt Piano Concertos, Hyperion 3.      21 st Century Symphony Orchestra, Howard Shore’s Lord of the Ring Symphony, Howe Records 4.     Anonymous 4, Secret Voices, Harmonia Mundi 5.     Trio Mediaeval, A Worcester Lady Mass, ECM 6.      Jerusalem Quartet, Mozart String Quartets, Harmonia Mundi 7.    ...

Anonymous 4 Secret Voices Chant & Polyphony from the Las Huelgas Codex Harmonia Mundi I’m pleased to receive a new recording by the all-woman vocal ensemble Anonymous 4.   While I’m not a Christian, I enjoy Christian music from medieval and renaissance eras.   I find the polyphony and Gregorian chants relaxing, as do many music fans.   In fact, there is a craze out there for this type of music that goes underground at times only to resurface later.  Many of the fans of early sacred music aren’t religious, but looking for peaceful and contemplative music. I lose track of the number of albums recorded by Anonymous 4, but each album features provocative music programs.   We are usually treated to music sung by ancient women or composed by women as in the case of Hildegard von Bingen, which Anonymous 4 covered.   However, on the latest recording, Secret Voices , we are privy to medieval music from the cloisters of Las Huelgas, in Cas...

Anonymous 4 The Cherry Tree Harmonia Mundi Having sold 2 million copies of their 20 albums, there’s nothing anonymous about this vocal ensemble comprised of Ruth Cunningham, Marsha Genensky, Susan Hellauer and Jacqueline Horner-Kwiatek. Anonymous 4’s popularity can be attributed to continuous glowing reviews of its live performances, albums, programs, and ethereal voices that blend seamlessly. Similar to Bulgarian women’s choirs, Anonymous 4 transports its listeners to other realms but with its repertoire of European and American early music—sung a cappella. The Cherry Tree features Christian ballads, hymns, carols, and songs from England, Ireland and America. This doesn’t surprise me since Anonymous 4 introduced early Americana music on its album American Angel which was released several years ago. After that album, the ensemble mysteriously broke up, only to reunite with the release of a greatest hits album, Four Centuries of Chant in 2009. What impresses me the most a...

Anonymous 4 Four Centuries of Chant Harmonia Mundi The laws of synchronicity work efficiently in my life. Two weeks ago, I pulled out Anonymous 4’s Portrait because I was craving ethereal polyphonic chants. Then I received an e-mail release notice from Harmonia Mundi announcing a new Anonymous 4 recording. Four Centuries of Chant, though is a compilation archives monody or plainsong chants that appeared on previous albums. While this quartet is mostly known for its vocal polyphony, the 20 plainsong chants (which includes work by Hildegard von Bingen, Tavener, along with medieval, renaissance chants and Hungarian Christmas music), deserve attention. These chants were culled from An English Ladymass , The Lily & The Lamb , Miracles of Sant’Iago , A Star in the East , Hildegard Von Bingen—11,000 Virgins , A Lammas Ladymass, The Legend of Nicholas , 1000: A Mass for the End of Time , Darkness into Light , and The Origins of Fire . Susan Hellauer cited in the liner notes, ...