Antoine BRUMEL: Missa pro defunctis; Libera me, Domine (plainsong);
Thomas CRECQUILLON: Lamentationes Jeremiæ;
Jacobus CLEMENS NON PAPA: Tristitia obsedit me – Infelix ego;
Josquin DESPREZ [attrib.]: Absalon fili mi; In paradisum (plainsong);
Jackson HILL (b.1942): Ma fin est mon commencement

New York Polyphony
Geoffrey Williams (countertenor), Geoffrey Silver (tenor), Christopher Dylan Herbert (baritone), Craig Phillips (bass)

• The four members of New York Polyphony here present a programme which explores the themes of grief, loss and mortality.
• Apart from the work by Jackson Hill on Guillaume de Machaut’s famous 14th century rondeau Ma fin… and two examples of plainsong, all works included on this disc, the ensemble’s first on BIS, were composed by masters of the Franco-Flemish school of polyphony from the first half of the 16th century.
• Most of this music was partly used liturgically: the two Gregorian chants Libera me and In paradisum both form part of the Roman Catholic burial service
• New York Polyphony was formed in 2006 and is establishing a reputation as an exceptionally fine vocal chamber ensemble. Their London début will take place on the 21st March 2012 at Cadogan Hall