The Hilliard Ensemble - Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik
The Hilliard Ensemble, who have been recording for ECM New Series since 1987, will be honoured for its artistic achievements by the jury of Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik (the German record critic's award) at this year's ceremony in Berlin on November 17.
The jury's argument notes that "by championing Arvo Pärt and its numerous commissions to contemporary composers the ensemble has written music history, leaving an equally deep imprint in performance history through its unique style of interpretation. The ensemble's interpretative art is based on making the music happen in a both lucid and emotional way out of pure sound. The singers' individuality doesn't disappear; as a product of polyphony it rather adds up to a blend of sound that does justice to each of the four timbres." The Hilliard Ensemble's most recent record on ECM, the Motets by Bach released this spring, has met with enthusiastic critical reactions. "If clarity is a virtue, these people are saints", wrote Jacques Drillon in the French "Nouvel Observateur", and in The Guardian, Andrew Clements praised a "supremely musical rendering overflowing with food for thought".
