{"id":259,"date":"2014-12-20T15:28:52","date_gmt":"2014-12-20T20:28:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nellshawcohen.com\/blog\/?p=259"},"modified":"2014-12-20T18:21:38","modified_gmt":"2014-12-20T23:21:38","slug":"reflections-on-an-inspiration-the-hilliard-ensemble","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/blog\/2014\/12\/reflections-on-an-inspiration-the-hilliard-ensemble\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflections on an Inspiration: The Hilliard Ensemble"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The<\/a>
The Hilliard Ensemble<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As I write, The Hilliard Ensemble<\/a><\/strong> – the English male vocal quartet that has produced countless wonderful recordings of Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, and contemporary Music –\u00a0is onstage at Wigmore Hall, where they are celebrating a 40-year career and singing their final concert<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Much has been said about the Hilliard’s music and enormous legacy, but\u00a0the ending of this group has caused me to reflect on what their influence has personally meant to me as a composer.<\/p>\n

It was my encounter with the Hilliards’ recordings of new music around eight years ago\u00a0that was perhaps the\u00a0single biggest epiphany<\/strong>\u00a0leading me to pursue classical training in composition and to channel my artistic efforts into concert music.<\/p>\n

At around age 18, I found myself at a crossroads. Having independently released my one-woman-band progressive rock opus\u00a0Tempus<\/i><\/a>, my next steps were\u00a0unclear for reasons both practical and creative. I felt that my current approach was no longer fulfilling my artistic inclinations and professional ambitions.<\/p>\n

Although I first began listening to The Hilliard Ensemble because of my long-standing love of Early Music, it was their recordings of\u00a0contemporary music\u00a0that showed to me that the kinds of\u00a0artistic expression\u00a0I’d been seeking through other genres and methods of music making could be realized through “classical” performance practices, aesthetics, and venues. The album\u00a0A Hilliard Songbook<\/i><\/a>, in particular, opened up a world of possibilities to me.<\/p>\n

The new music The Hilliard Ensemble recorded was unlike anything I’d heard. And, unlike the broad gloss of choral music, or the 19th century-derived aesthetic of modern operatic singing (both of which I have come to appreciate in their own right), there was an intense, jewel-like delicacy<\/strong> in the Hilliards’ singing.\u00a0In one of my old favorites among their interpretations of newly-composed music, Stephen Hartke’s Cathedral in the Thrashing Rain<\/em>, every note, rhythm, and gesture emerges in sharp relief; every opportunity for expression is captured and realized,\u00a0born out of a tremendous sensitivity to text, line, and harmony.<\/p>\n

Their performances were immaculate yet intimate; technical, yet seemingly effortless; overwhelmingly beautiful but, above all, utterly\u00a0human<\/strong>. They blended their voices in a way that was both balanced yet individualistic, taking full advantage of the inherent transparency of the small ensemble sound. Whenever I have listened to this group, I hear not only “The Hilliard Ensemble” but the perfectly allied voices of David James, Rogers Covey-Crump, Steven Harrold\u00a0(or John Potter), and Gordon Jones, plus the ineffable ambience that the combination of those voices produces.<\/p>\n

Although I had certainly experienced classical music before hearing The Hilliard Ensemble, through their recordings I began to realize that contemporary concert music might be “my” music.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was with all of this ringing in my ears that in 2007 I wrote a 12-minute setting of Saint Augustine for solo soprano, countertenor, tenor, and bass, titled\u00a0Memory<\/i><\/strong>\u00a0(listen to an excerpt<\/a>). This was my first completed composition that was 1) fully notated, 2) envisioned for classically trained performers, and which\u00a03) didn’t involve drum set and\/or guitar!\u00a0I was extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to record this work with top-notch singers in NYC (members of Lionheart, et al).<\/p>\n

This recording went into my artistic portfolio and helped me to secure spots and scholarships in several composition programs (including\u00a0New England Conservatory<\/strong>, where I went on to pursue my Bachelor of Music).\u00a0Now, seven years later, I’ve completed a Master of Music at New York University<\/strong> and produced compositions and performances for chamber ensembles<\/a>, orchestra<\/a>, multimedia<\/a>, and voice, including a\u00a0staged one-act monodrama for tenor,<\/strong>\u00a0The Coming of Spring,<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>.<\/p>\n

As The Hilliard Ensemble ends its long career this evening, I’m faced with the knowledge that I’ll\u00a0never have the opportunity of fulfilling my\u00a0“bucket list”<\/strong>\u00a0dream of composing a work to be performed by this group. However, while contemplating the pivotal influence<\/strong> that the Hilliards had on my path, I renew my hope that I might someday have an opportunity to revisit writing for small vocal ensemble and\u00a0continue following the inspiration\u00a0of this group in future, unforeseen ways.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As I write, The Hilliard Ensemble – the English male vocal quartet that has produced countless wonderful recordings of Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, and contemporary Music –\u00a0is onstage at Wigmore Hall, where they are celebrating a 40-year career and singing their final concert. Much has been said about the Hilliard’s music and enormous legacy, but\u00a0the ending … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Reflections on an Inspiration: The Hilliard Ensemble”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[74,73],"class_list":["post-259","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-influences","tag-the-hilliard-ensemble"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=259"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=259"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=259"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=259"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}