THEATRE OF VOICES is one of the world’s foremost vocal ensembles. Founder and artistic director Paul Hillier created the group to be flexible, specializing in music ancient and modern: medieval and renaissance polyphony and new works by contemporary composers. The idea for the group was conceived as early as 1989 while Hillier was still artistic director of the Hilliard Ensemble, but looking for ways to expand into different styles of singing while performing the early music of his choice. Under the name Theatre of Voices, he began creating new projects ranging from a recital of Troubadour songs to programs devoted to the music of John Cage and Arvo Pärt.
Theatre of Voices has appeared in the Opera de la Bastille in Paris, Radio Frankfurt, the Schauspielhaus Berlin, Vredenburg in Utrecht, the Frick Museum and Alice Tully Hall in New York, the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. In recent years Theatre of Voices has performed extensively throughout the United States and Europe including collaborative concerts with Steve Reich & Musicians. Paul Hillier directed the first performances of Reich’s The Cave and subsequently, Reich wrote Proverb for Theatre of Voices. The ensemble appears in its own right, and also participates in large-scale projects, such as the first performances of John Adams El Nino worldwide.
Theatre of Voices records extensively for Harmonia Mundi USA. Recordings devoted to repertoire of Josquin, Mouton and Lassus join the most recent contemporary music releases which included two highly acclaimed CDs: Arvo Pärt's De Profundis (HMU 907182) (a Billboard Top Ten CD) and more recently Litany for the Whale - a collection of works by John Cage (HMU 907187).
Future projects include Steve Reich’s Proverb and medieval works (UK Autumn 2006) Stockhausen’s Stimmung (January and September 2006, and a recording for Harmonia Mundi) and Ockeghem Chansons (September 2006 and March 2007).
Theatre of Voices Director, Paul Hillier
Else Torp, soprano Risto Joost, alto Wolodymyr Smishkewych, tenor Paul Hillier, bass/baritone Peter Spissky, violin Milos Valent, violin Dasa Valentova, viola Juraj Kovac, violoncello Alan Rasmussen, organ
Program:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Alma Dei creatoris KV277 Ergo interest K143, Solo Soprano, Else Torp Miserere KV73s Ave verum corpus KV618 Sancta Maria KV273 -----Interval----- Arvo Pärt: Wallfahrtslied Stabat Mater |