In Paradisum

The anonymous requiem text of an anonymous french arrangement from the first half of the 17th century forms both a framework and contrast in In Paradisum, the second evening with The Hilliard Ensemble, to the polyphonic songs of the two Renaissance composers Palestrina (1525–1594) and Victoria (1548–1611). Here too the free-flowing Hilliard sound is synonymous with effortless weightlessness and inward contemplation. Vocal purity, four different breaths uniting as one and yet remaining independent in an elementary interplay of energetic virtuosity and silence laden with tension. An effect which the four singers themselves describe as a »purifying, meditative experience« which is also felt by the audience and takes on an important function in this wide, open space.

Hilliard Ensemble – Officium Defunctorum – Taedet Animam Meam

From the album »In Paradisum«

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