Glossary

Anerio Felice	(c.1560 - 1614) Italian composer. The brother of Giovanni Francesco Anerio, he sang as chorister and adult falsettist in various Roman churches, including the Cappella Giulia under Palestrina. He succeeded Palestrina as composer to the Papal chapel in 1594, and also worked at the English College. He collaborated with Francesco Soriano on the 1614 revision of the Graduale, and published seven volumes of motets and spiritual and secular madrigals; much more church music exists in manuscript. Though his style closely resembles Palestrina's, he gradually assimilated new ideas, such as word painting, Venetian-style polychoral effects, and the use of the basso continuo.
Anerio Giovanni Francesco	(c.1567-1630). Italian composer, brother of Felice Anerio. He was a choirboy under Palestrina at St Peter's, Rome (1575-1579), and from 1600 held many choirmaster posts in that city at St John Lateran, S. Spirito in Sassia, the Collegio Romano, and S. Maria dei Monti. He also worked for a time at Verona cathedral and his last years were spent directing music at the Polish court of Sigismondo III; he died on his way back from there to Rome. He published a volume of Masses, several volumes of motets and a collection of psalms, antiphons and litanies; his Teatro armonico(1619) was an important contribution to the development of oratorio, being a collection of laude in dialogue for soloists, choir and instruments. His church music illustrates the transition from a Palestrinian idiom (as in the fine Requiem Mass) to the concertato manner pioneered by Viadana.
Bennet John	English composer. The dates of his birth and death are approximate, probably 1570 and 1614. His works consists of a Book of madrigals for four voices (1599), one madrigal from The Triumphes of Oriana (1601), four psalms in Barley’s psalter (ca. 1599), a verse anthem and six secular vocal pieces in Ravenscroft’s A Briefe Discourse (1614). Many madrigals are clearly modeled on the style cultivated by Thomas Morly. Influences from Weelkes, Dowland and Wilbye are also evident. “Weep o mine eyes” is one of the famous and popular Bennet’s madrigals.
Hilliard Ensemble	The Hilliard Ensemble is one of the world's finest vocal chamber groups, and is probably unrivalled for its formidable reputation in the fields of both early and new music. Its distinctive style and highly developed musicianship engage the listener as much in medieval and renaissance repertoire as in works specially written for the group by living composers. The ensemble's performing schedule is busy and varied, amounting to some hundred concerts a year. Its substantial following in Europe, particularly in Mediterranean and central European countries, is augmented by regular visits to Japan, the USA and Canada. The group's reputation as an early music ensemble dates from the 1980s and its series of highly successful records for EMI but from the start the group has paid equal attention to new music. Their 1988 recording of Arvo Part's Passio began a fruitful relationship with both Part and the Munich-based record company ECM. This continued with their recording of Arvo Part's Litany, which was released in August '96. The group has recently commissioned other composers from the Baltic States, including Veljo Tormis and Erkki-Sven Tuur, adding to a rich repertoire of new music written for the Ensemble by Gavin Bryars, Heinz Holliger, John Casken, James MacMillan, Elena Firsova and others. The group's 1994 composition competition produced over one hundred pieces, many of which have found their way into Hilliard programmes. At its annual summer schools the group provides for a composer-in-residence; past holders of this post have included Ivan Moody, Piers Hellawell, Barry Guy and Gavin Bryars. Many of these composers are represented on the ECM double album A Hilliard Songbook. In 1994, Officium was released, "one of the biggest crossover hits of the '90s". This was the first of the group's collaborations with the Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek, with whom they have enjoyed huge success throughout the world. 1997 saw the release of the Canadian film Lilies, for which the group provided the soundtrack, and a renewal of their collaboration with Garbarek with the release of Mnemosyne which they have toured in Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, France, Italy, Spain, Latvia, Lithuania and throughout the United Kingdom. The Hilliard Ensemble also commemorated the 500th anniversary of the death of Ockeghem (ca.1410-1497) with special tribute programmes and through the launch of their own mail-order record label, hilliard LIVE. The first issue of hilliard LIVE, Perotin and the Ars Antiqua, was released in '96, No 2, For Ockeghem, in 1997, and No 3 Antoine Brumel, and No 4 Dufay were released during 1998. For ECM they released works by Lassus in May 1998. Autumn 2001 saw the successful release of their most recent ECM collaboration, Morimur with the German violinist Christoph Poppen and soprano Monika Mauch. 2002 opened with the world premiere of Piers Hellawell's The Pear Tree of Nicostratus in Kaustinen, Finland, with the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra. Commissioned specially for the Kaustinen Festival, the piece continues the long association of the Irish composer with The Hilliard Ensemble. Current plans include various concerts in Europe and a Summer School at Schloss Engers, Germany in August. The Hilliard Ensemble gave the highest patterns of performance art as a vocal group and as early music’s interpreter, opened new sphereis of concert repertoire and revived the whole stylistic tradition. After Hilliard Ensemble’s recordings and concerts early music makes itself native and clear.
Kirkby Emma	(b Camberley, Surrey, 26 Feb 1949). English soprano. Originally, Emma Kirkby had no plans to become a professional singer. As a classics student at Oxford and then a schoolteacher she sang for pleasure in choirs and small groups, always feeling most at home in Renaissance and Baroque repertoire. She joined the Taverner Choir in 1971 and took part in the early Decca Florilegium recordings with both the Consort of Musicke and the Academy of Ancient Music. At a time when most college-trained sopranos were not seeking a sound appropriate for early instruments she began to find her own approach, with enormous help from Jessica Cash in London. To date, she has made well over a hundred recordings of all kinds, from sequences of Hildegarde of Bingen to madrigals of the Italian and English Renaissance, cantatas and oratorios of the Baroque, works of Mozart, Haydn and J. C. Bach. Her recent recordings include: Stravinsky pieces with Christopher Hogwood and the Kammerorchester Basel, and in February 2002 Buxtehude motets with Susie Le Blanc, Peter Harvey and the Purcell Quartet , for Chandos. In 1999 Emma was voted Artist of the Year by Classic FM Radio listeners, and in November 2000 she received the Order of the British Empire. Her uncommonly pure, crystal voice, practically without vibrato, her natural declamation, agile coloratura and her sensitive attention to words have been widely admired by interpreters of early and Baroque music and have served as a model for many specialists in this repertoire. Kirkby has sung frequently under the direction of Andrew Parrott, Anthony Rooley and Christopher Hogwood and has been a regular member of Rooley’s Consort of Musicke.
Porta Constanzo	(1528/9-1601). Italian composer, a pupil of Willaert; became a Franciscan monk and held posts in many Italian centres - at S. Antonio, Padua, in 1565-7 and 1595-1601, Ravenna cathedral in 1567-74 and 1580-9, and Loreto in 1574-80. He was an excellent teacher, numbering Viadana among his pupils. His output includes three books of madrigals, one of Masses, four of motets, and a further four of other liturgical music- Introits, hymns and psalms. In his Masses he aimed to make the text intelligible for listeners. His motets show greatcontrapuntal skill and his double-choir psalms are fine products of the fashion for cori spezzati.
Soriano Francesco	(1549-1621). Italian composer. A pupil of Palestrina and Giovanni Maria Nanino; apart from a period as maestro di cappella at the Mantuan court (1583-6), worked as maestro Felice Anerio on the 1614 revision of the Graduale and published canzonets with spiritual texts, a dramatic Passion, and church music. This includes an 8-part arrangement of Palestrina's Papae Marcelli Mass, Masses and Magnificats in an old-fashioned style, and polychoral psalms and motets.
Viadana Lodovico Grossi da	(c.1560-1627). Italian composer, possibly a pupil of Costanzo Porta. His family name was Grossi, but he adopted the name Viadana, place of his birth when he entered the order of the Minor Observants sometime before 1588. He was maestro di cappella at Mantua Cathedral in 1593-1597, at the convent of S. Luca, Cremona (1602), the cathedral at Concordia, near Venice (1608-9), and Fario Cathedral (1610-1612). Viadana was a prolific church composer, publishing no less than twenty-two volumes of motets, psalm collections, etc.; he also wrote four books of madrigals and canzonets . His historical importance lies in the fact that he established the smallscale concertato style and the use of the continuo in church music with his epoch-making Cento concerti ecclesiastici of 1602 . It is one of the earliest publications of sacred music with basso continuo. In writing for between one and four voices with organ accompaniment, they proved that the new medium was feasible for church music, and though the musical results were often modest the influence of the collection was immense.