Theatre of Voices

Theatre of Voices is a vocal ensemble founded by baritone Paul Hillier in 1990; it focuses on early music and new music.

The ensemble was formed by Paul Hillier while he was teaching at the University of California, Davis, as an avenue to performing more contemporary music while his other group, the Hilliard Ensemble, focused primarily on early music. Originally based in the United States, members of the group originated from both the United States and England. After Hillier's move to Copenhagen in 2003, membership in the group became more international, with members drawn from Denmark, Poland, England, and the United States.

The group has collaborated with a number of composers, including Steve Reich, Arvo Pärt, and John Adams. They premiered Reich's The Cave along with Reich and his musicians, while Reich's Proverb (1995) was written specifically for the ensemble. Theatre of Voices also premiered John Adams' El Niño, the DVD of which was the recipient of a Grammy), while their recording of Pärt's De profundis was in the Billboard Top Ten Albums.

The group records with Harmonia Mundi USA and tours internationally.

The ensemble's membership varies according to the needs of the specific project they are working on; however the members listed below are most consistently involved.

Members (prior to 2003)

• Ellen Hargis - soprano
• Steven Rickards - countertenor
• Paul Elliott - tenor
• Alan Bennett - tenor
• Paul Hillier - baritone
• Christopher Bowers-Broadbent - organ

Discography

• William Byrd: Motets & Mass for 4 Voices (1994).
• Orlande de Lassus: St. Matthew Passion; Paschal Vigil (1994).
• Carols From the Old & New Worlds (1994).
• Proensa (1994) - various medieval.
• Joan Airas de Santiago and King Dinis I of Portugal: Cantigas from the Court of Dom Dinis (1995) - Cantigas de Santa Maria and songs.
• Thomas Tallis: Lamentations, Motets, String Music (1996)- works by Thomas Tallis
• Steve Reich: Proverb/Nagoya Marimbas/City Life (1996)
• The Age of Cathedrals (1996) - various Notre Dame school composers.
• Arvo Pärt: De Profundis (1997).
• Carols from the Old & New Worlds, Vol. 2 (1998).
• John Cage: Litany for the Whale (1998).
• Monastic Song: 12th Century Monophonic Chant (1998).
• Home to Thanksgiving (1999).
• Hoquetus (1999) - medieval Hockets.
• Arvo Pärt: I Am the True Vine (2000).
• Ingram Marshall: Kingdom Come; Hymnodic Delays; Fog Tropes II for String Quartet and Tap (2001)
• Fragments (2002).
• The Cries of London with Fretwork
• Karlheinz Stockhausen: Stimmung (Copenhagen Version). Else Torp, Louise Skovbæch, Clara Sanabras, Wolodymyr Smishkewych, Kasper Eliassen, Andrew Hendricks; Ian Dearden, sound diffusion. (recorded 2006). Harmonia Mundi CD HMU 807408. (2007).
• David Lang: The Little Match Girl Passion (2009) with Ars Nova (Copenhagen)

External links

• Theatre of Voices on Paul Hillier's site
• on Goldberg web