Paul Hillier
Paul Hillier is one of the leading figures in the early music movement, both as a singer and conductor. With an increasing interest in new music later in his career, he has performed and recorded music spanning from the 12th century to the 21st. He founded two world-class ensembles and has won several awards for his recordings, including two Grammys. Hillier was born in Dorchester, England, on February 9, 1949. As a boy, he was a chorister at St. Paul's Cathedral in London. This position allowed him an opportunity to learn a wide expanse of choral repertoire, receive a thorough musical and general education at the St. Paul's Cathedral School, make important lifelong contacts, and earn great prestige. After graduating, he studied music at London's Guildhall. Hillier returned to St. Paul's Cathedral in 1973 as its vicar-scholar for one season, while also a member of the Queen's Chapel Royal at Windsor Castle. In 1974, he made his solo recital debut at the Purcell Room in London. In the same year, he co-founded the Hilliard Ensemble, becoming its music director. The ensemble soon became one of the world's best-known early music vocal groups, and was much in demand for performances worldwide, making several best-selling and award-winning recordings. The all-male quartet specialized in Renaissance music. From 1980-1981, Hillier was a visiting professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz, after which he began to spend an increasing amount of time in the U.S. He was the Copland Colloquium Fellow at Amherst College in Massachusetts in 1984. During this time, he became more interested in new music and tried to get the Hilliard Ensemble to branch out in that direction. That, as well as a wish to add female voices and engage in the more theatrical style of performance presentation, led to his leaving the Ensemble. In 1990, Hillier moved to the U.S. to become a professor of music at the University of California, Davis. There, he founded Theatre of Voices, an ensemble of male and female singers specializing both in early and recent music, and performing in dynamic, theatrical stage presentations. Unlike the Hilliard Ensemble, it was planned to include a varying number of singers, depending on the demands of the performances. Theatre of Voices records exclusively for Harmonia Mundi, on which it has released a repertoire ranging from 12th century chant to the music of Arvo Pärt, including Litany for the Whale by John Cage, and a selection of early American religious music, including hymns sung in the "shaped note" tradition. From 1996-2003, Hillier was director of the Early Music Institute at Indiana University; he also conducted the university's early music choir, the Pro Arte Singers. From 2001-2008, he was the artistic director and principal conductor of the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir. In 2003, Hillier became the chief conductor of the Ars Nova ensemble in Copenhagen, and in 2008, he began his role as the artistic director and chief conductor of the National Chamber Choir of Ireland. Hillier has maintained an active career as a singer and conductor, frequently appearing in North America, Europe, and Japan, though he has relaxed this pace sufficiently to carry out his teaching and administrative responsibilities and also research and write. His books include 300 Years of English Partsongs, Romantic English Partsongs, The Catch Book, and a book on Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, and he is serving as editor of a book of collected writings of composer Steve Reich. Hillier has won many prizes for recordings, including Grammy Awards in 2007 for Arvo Pärt: Da Pacem and 2010 for David Lang: The Little Match Girl Passion. He has recorded on the Harmonia Mundi, ECM, EMI, Finlandia, Hyperion, and Dacapo labels.© Joseph Stevenson /TiVo Read more
Paul Hillier is one of the leading figures in the early music movement, both as a singer and conductor. With an increasing interest in new music later in his career, he has performed and recorded music spanning from the 12th century to the 21st. He founded two world-class ensembles and has won several awards for his recordings, including two Grammys.
Hillier was born in Dorchester, England, on February 9, 1949. As a boy, he was a chorister at St. Paul's Cathedral in London. This position allowed him an opportunity to learn a wide expanse of choral repertoire, receive a thorough musical and general education at the St. Paul's Cathedral School, make important lifelong contacts, and earn great prestige. After graduating, he studied music at London's Guildhall. Hillier returned to St. Paul's Cathedral in 1973 as its vicar-scholar for one season, while also a member of the Queen's Chapel Royal at Windsor Castle. In 1974, he made his solo recital debut at the Purcell Room in London. In the same year, he co-founded the Hilliard Ensemble, becoming its music director. The ensemble soon became one of the world's best-known early music vocal groups, and was much in demand for performances worldwide, making several best-selling and award-winning recordings. The all-male quartet specialized in Renaissance music. From 1980-1981, Hillier was a visiting professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz, after which he began to spend an increasing amount of time in the U.S. He was the Copland Colloquium Fellow at Amherst College in Massachusetts in 1984. During this time, he became more interested in new music and tried to get the Hilliard Ensemble to branch out in that direction. That, as well as a wish to add female voices and engage in the more theatrical style of performance presentation, led to his leaving the Ensemble.
In 1990, Hillier moved to the U.S. to become a professor of music at the University of California, Davis. There, he founded Theatre of Voices, an ensemble of male and female singers specializing both in early and recent music, and performing in dynamic, theatrical stage presentations. Unlike the Hilliard Ensemble, it was planned to include a varying number of singers, depending on the demands of the performances. Theatre of Voices records exclusively for Harmonia Mundi, on which it has released a repertoire ranging from 12th century chant to the music of Arvo Pärt, including Litany for the Whale by John Cage, and a selection of early American religious music, including hymns sung in the "shaped note" tradition. From 1996-2003, Hillier was director of the Early Music Institute at Indiana University; he also conducted the university's early music choir, the Pro Arte Singers. From 2001-2008, he was the artistic director and principal conductor of the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir. In 2003, Hillier became the chief conductor of the Ars Nova ensemble in Copenhagen, and in 2008, he began his role as the artistic director and chief conductor of the National Chamber Choir of Ireland.
Hillier has maintained an active career as a singer and conductor, frequently appearing in North America, Europe, and Japan, though he has relaxed this pace sufficiently to carry out his teaching and administrative responsibilities and also research and write. His books include 300 Years of English Partsongs, Romantic English Partsongs, The Catch Book, and a book on Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, and he is serving as editor of a book of collected writings of composer Steve Reich. Hillier has won many prizes for recordings, including Grammy Awards in 2007 for Arvo Pärt: Da Pacem and 2010 for David Lang: The Little Match Girl Passion. He has recorded on the Harmonia Mundi, ECM, EMI, Finlandia, Hyperion, and Dacapo labels.
© Joseph Stevenson /TiVo
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Pärt : Creator Spiritus (Stabat mater & autres pièces)
Paul Hillier
Classical - Released by harmonia mundi on Apr 10, 2012
Under the leadership of Paul Hillier, the "creative spirit" of Arvo Pärt is expressed through his chamber music, whether vocal or instrumental. The in ...
24-Bit 88.2 kHz - Stereo -
The Christmas Story
Paul Hillier
Classical - Released by harmonia mundi on Sep 13, 2011
This anthology of Christmas carols from the European tradition is not as banal a collection as it may seem. Paul Hillier's intention here is to place ...
24-Bit 88.2 kHz - Stereo -
Johannes-Passion - Die Sieben Worte (Heinrich Schütz)
Paul Hillier
Sacred Oratorios - Released by Dacapo on Apr 12, 2010
Hi-Res AudioArs Nova Copenhagen and Paul Hillier here present the third recording in their critically acclaimed series devoted to the narrative works (Historia) o ...
24-Bit 88.2 kHz - Stereo -
Pärt : De Profundis
Paul Hillier
Classical - Released by harmonia mundi on Mar 10, 1997
4F de TéléramaDiapason d'or« Paul Hillier’s Theatre of Voices, like the Hilliard Ensemble with whom he was associated before settling in America, have given the music of Arvo Pä ...
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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John Taverner : The Western Wind & Tudor Music I (John Taverner)
Paul Hillier
Sacred Vocal Music - Released by Dacapo on Sep 26, 2006
Choc du Monde de la MusiqueThe peripatetic English-born conductor Paul Hillier, who has led many a superb performance of a cappella Renaissance music in both Europe and the U.S. ...
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Natural World of Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen
Paul Hillier
Choral Music (Choirs) - Released by Dacapo on Jan 4, 2011
5 de DiapasonHi-Res AudioThese a cappella choral song cycles by Danish composer Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen, born in 1932, were written at two periods in his life, the first in ...
24-Bit 88.2 kHz - Stereo -
Buxtehude: Scandinavian Cantatas & Organ Works (Dietrich Buxtehude)
Paul Hillier
Cantatas (sacred) - Released by Dacapo on Nov 1, 2010
Hi-Res AudioAmong his work on the exploration of 17th century German music, Paul Hillier has composed this magnificent monograph dedicated to Dietrich Buxtehude. ...
24-Bit 88.2 kHz - Stereo -
Requiem (Johannes Ockeghem - Bent Sorensen)
Paul Hillier
Sacred Vocal Music - Released by Dacapo on Mar 26, 2012
5 de DiapasonHi-Res AudioJohannes Ockeghem's Missa pro defunctis, probably composed in 1461, is the earliest surviving polyphonic setting of the requiem mass. The requiem cont ...
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Golden Age of Danish Partsongs
Paul Hillier
Mélodies (Northern Europe) - Released by Dacapo on Mar 3, 2014
5 de DiapasonHi-Res Audio24-Bit 88.2 kHz - Stereo -
Byrd: The Masses for 3, 4 & 5 voices
Paul Hillier
Classical - Released by harmonia mundi on Oct 9, 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tarik O'Regan : Acallam na Senorach (An Irish Colloquy)
Paul Hillier
Symphonic Music - Released by harmonia mundi on Oct 11, 2011
Hi-Res Audio24-Bit 88.2 kHz - Stereo -
A Bridge of Dreams
Paul Hillier
Classical - Released by Dacapo on Oct 31, 2011
Hi-Res Audio24-Bit 88.2 kHz - Stereo -
John Cage: Litany for the Whale
Paul Hillier
Classical - Released by harmonia mundi on Jun 10, 1998
Named after the longest work on the CD, this is a collection of both familiar and rarely given vocal works, composed by John Cage, and excellently per ...
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Home To Thanksgiving - Songs of Thanks and Praise (Paul Hillier)
Paul Hillier
Classical - Released by harmonia mundi on Aug 17, 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bitter Ballads (Paul Hillier & Andrew Lawrence-King)
Paul Hillier
Classical - Released by harmonia mundi on Jan 1, 1998
On the surface, BITTER BALLADS appears to be a collection of Medieval or Renaissance songs: Paul Hillier and Andrew Lawrence-King are known early-musi ...
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Theatre Of Voices
Paul Hillier
Classical - Released by ECM New Series on Apr 1, 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Kurt Weill : Das Berliner Requiem (+ Milhaud - Stravinsky - Hindemith) (Flemish Radio Choir - I Solisti del Vento - Paul Hillier)
Paul Hillier
Sacred Vocal Music - Released by Glossa on Jan 26, 2010
Prise de Son d'ExceptionPaul Hillier regularly appears as a guest conductor with the Flemish Radio Choir, and this Glossa SACD release preserves one of their most auspicious ...
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Cries of London (Paul Hillier & Theatre of Voices)
Paul Hillier
Classical - Released by harmonia mundi on Dec 21, 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Passion selon Saint Luc (Heinrich Schütz)
Paul Hillier
Sacred Oratorios - Released by Dacapo on Apr 8, 2009
5 de DiapasonHi-Res Audio24-Bit 88.2 kHz - Stereo -
Proensa
Paul Hillier
Classical - Released by ECM New Series on Mar 1, 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo