Scattered Rhymes

Featuring

Paul Hillier
Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir
Orlando Consort
Tarik O'Regan
Guillaume de Machaut
Guillaume Dufay

Gavin Bryars

Did you know?

1/7

Recording & Production

This album was recorded in May 2007 at Greyfriars Kirk, Edinburgh, Scotland, with Robina G. Young as producer.

Performer Biography

Paul Hillier, the principal conductor and artistic director of the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, was awarded a Grammy Award in 2006 for their CD "Da Pacem" (Arvo Pärt).

Composition History

Gavin Bryars's "Super flumina" was commissioned by the National Centre for Early Music, York.

Composition History

Guillaume Dufay's "Ave Regina celorum" was composed with his own death in mind, and his will stipulated it be sung at his bedside at the moment of his death.

Historical Context

Guillaume de Machaut's "Messe de Nostre Dame" was likely composed in the early 1360s, a time when the Black Death was still a fresh memory and France suffered from the Hundred Years' War.

Composition History

Tarik O'Regan's "Scattered Rhymes" was commissioned by the Spitalfields Festival, London, and his "Virelai: Douce dame jolie" was commissioned by the Orlando Consort, the vocal ensemble performing on this album.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Tarik O'Regan's "Scattered Rhymes" interlaces two 14th-century texts that explore the ambiguities of sensuous and divine love, designed to be performed alongside Machaut's "Messe de Nostre Dame."