And the sun darkened: New York Polyphony

GRAMMY-nominated vocal quartet New York Polyphony today announced the release of And the sun darkened, a new album out Friday, March 5, 2021 on BIS Records (BIS-2277 SACD). The album marks a return to form for the ensemble - a 58-minute program of new and ancient works organized around texts appropriate for Passiontide, the last two weeks of the Lenten season in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church. Champions of rare and rediscovered works of antiquity, New York Polyphony presents the world premiere recording Loyset Compère's Officium de Cruce, an elaborate, multi-movement motet cycle that rivals the masterpieces of Franco-Flemish contemporaries Pierre de la Rue and Josquin des Prez, both of whom also appear on the album. Additional works include Andrew Smith's Salme 55, Adrian Willaert's Pater noster-Ave Maria, and Cyrillus Kreek's Taaveti laul 22.

Officium de Cruce is an anomaly for its time - a long-form dramatic work likely intended for private devotional use. Composed for Galeazzo Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan from 1466 until his assassination a decade later, it depicts the events of the crucifixion of Jesus. The compositional techniques Compère employed, as well as the work's overall expressive dimension, foreshadowed the innovations of Adrian Willaert and Nicolas Gombert a generation later. "The dramatic form of Officium de Cruce is, in a sense, a prototype for the madrigal cycles that began to appear in the late 16th century," explains New York Polyphony countertenor Geoffrey Williams. "It has an expressive arc that is deeply affecting and innovative for composers of Compère's generation."

Norwegian composer Andrew Smith's (b. 1970) affiliation with New York Polyphony dates back to the ensemble's inception. The music he has composed for the group has occupied such an important place in the group's repertoire that they consider Smith to be a key factor in the development of their acclaimed sound. "It was through Andrew's music that we learned to sing as a unit," notes founding member and bass Craig Phillips. "The format of his harmonic language, its reliance on the contours and colors of Gregorian chant, and how elegantly he sets text taught us how to communicate with each other, balance our timbres, and sing with uniformity of purpose." Composed for New York Polyphony, Salme 55 is one of Smith's most ambitious compositions. The text is a lament in which the psalmist prays to God for deliverance from the enemies that surround him, and the friend who has betrayed him. To illustrate the emotional extremes, Smith uses a range of techniques that include complex counterpoint, melodic fragmentation, and tonal ambiguity. The work received its premiere in 2014 at the Church of Saint Jean Baptiste in New York City and has remained a favorite in the repertoire of New York Polyphony ever since.

To read the full press release, please visit this link. Dr. Geoffrey Williams was appointed Professor of Church Music and Director of Chapel Music at Nashotah Theological Seminary in July 2019.  Acclaimed for his “deeply hued countertenor" (New York Times), he is in demand as a singer, conductor, teacher, and early music specialist throughout the United States and abroad. He is founder and artistic director of the GRAMMY-nominated male classical vocal quartet New York Polyphony. He also performs regularly with Vox Vocal Ensemble, Early Music New York, and the Clarion Music Society and each summer serves on the faculty of the Amherst Early Music Festival. A devoted church musician, he has served the parishes of Emmanuel Memorial Episcopal Church (Champaign, IL), St. Mary the Virgin, Times Square, Trinity Church (Princeton), Washington National Cathedral, and was for a decade a Gentleman of the Choir of Men and Boys at Saint Thomas Church, Fifth Avenue (NYC).