Anonymous, Czech Anonymous, Guillaume Dufay, Pierre de La Rue, Cristobal de Morales, Perotin, Sarum Chant, Hilliard Ensemble, Jan Garbarek - Officium

What is this music? Fundamentally, it's an exploration of what happens when an improvisatory instrumental voice (saxophone) is placed into the world of early vocal music--which has elements of both improvisation and formal structure. In reality, it's an adventure in which the four male voices of the Hilliard Ensemble travel the 14th- and 15th-century territory of Morales and Dufay, visit the 12th century of Perotin, and roam even earlier ages of plainchant, accompanied by the always sensitive and tasteful--and often astonishing--saxophone improvisations of jazz master Jan Garbarek. Sometimes, these new melodies simply accompany; sometimes they transform the common--a routine minor chord, for instance--into a sublime, indescribable moment. The answer to the above question is easy--but it's different for each listener. --David Vernier Amazon.com

Generally beautiful, but rather homogenous and limited in its possibilities

While working on a film in Iceland, ECM label head Manfred Eicher was listening to a mix of medieval European vocal music and the contemporary jazz of Jan Garbarek. In September 1993, Eicher brought together the Hilliard Ensemble and Jan Garbarek in a German monastery for a fresh new crossover concept. As the Hilliard Ensemble performed 14 early vocal pieces, ranging from the most ancient chants to the more elaborate settings of Perotin and Dufay, Jan Garbarek improvised on soprano and tenor saxophones. The resulting music is generally quite beautiful, with the saxophone giving more variety of timbre but the music of the vocal ensemble keeps everything rooted in (pre-)tonality. The interaction of the vocalists and the saxophone nowhere seems forced. Certainly audiences of the time were in need of such contemplative music--witness the success in the following year of the Chant album.

The problem with the album, however, is that like most crossover efforts the music eventually comes to see limited in its possibilities. Instead of a 77-minute CD, which comes to be exhausting, half as much material would have the same impact. Those intrigued by the concept--and certainly fans of Jan Garbarek's work--may find it worthwhile. But all in all it is a fairly minor item in my collection, and I'm baffled that Eicher thought it necessary to continue this line of crossover with the Mnemosyne album. November 21, 2007

I Wish I Could be More Positive...

...but I really hate the soprano sax played over these beautiful pieces. The singing is superb and the repertoire is rare (only one other recording of the Morales, for instance, and that is done quite differently, anent the sax).

I think I would have liked it better if Garbarak had played a lower horn, like an alto or tenor sax. These pieces are about something, and I don't feel that Gabarak really knew what the texts were about and what the composers were responding to in the texts.

I keep it for the exquisite "Parce mihi Domine" sung withoug the screeching sax. January 6, 2007

Perfect for "Old Souls"

I'll never forget hearing this music for the first time, in 1993 or 1994 at a sampling station at Borders. I have to admit I was intrigued by the cover photograph likely taken at a cemetery, of a spider web-draped angel statute. That was when CDs were still new, and my first thought was "This is the perfect sound for CDs: clear, quiet, ethereal." I bought the handsome 2-CD package then and there, and my interest in this unique musical project has gradually matured in the past decade. Most recently, following a significant family death in 2002, I've started a personal tradition of spending New Year's Eve alone at home, with only candles burning after 7:00 p.m., listing to recordings of great requiems (Mozart, Durufle, Rutter and Verdi) and The Hilliard Ensemble's Officium (translated to sense of duty, respect, service and allegiance). Spending the last day of the year this way is comforting, and allows me to continue to grieve appropriately. Officium transports me to another place and time, quasi-religious, celestial, meditative. The solo saxophone calls out as if speaking, questioning, affirming. It's not for everyone. This recording will never climb the charts, especially in today's shallow world of noise and self-importance. I would say if you're an "old soul," try listening to this gift of creativity and inspiration. It just might become one of the most valuable recordings you own - as it has for me ... December 15, 2006

Mixed feelings about mixed genres

Although I enjoy listening to these recordings for their serenity and sense of magical wonder, I tend to sympathise with some of the less glowing reviewers. My favourite passages are, without a shadow of a doubt, those in which the eminent Mr Garbarek's sax is 'tacit' or, at least, 'pianissimo'. Indeed, from time to time I struggle with an impulse to shout out: "Oh shut up, Jan, and let me listen to those wonderful singers!" That said, the voices and the sax do sometimes synergise, though I get the distinct impression that Mr Garbarek was simply overdubbing an existing recording by the Hilliard Ensemble: he seems to be reacting to them, but not vice versa. And with more rehearsal, his notes might have been more appropriate. FINAL VERDICT: an interesting oddity, not an unmitigated success. January 18, 2006

Wow.

Gregorian chant is one form of music. If you must have it in the pure form, go elsewhere.

Jazz sax is another form of music. If you are offended by restraining the sax to a gentle, wistful, melodious exploration, go elsewhere.

Otherwise, consider a rope: consisting of several smaller strands, a rope is a strong, limber, powerful thing which can achieve a great deal more than the strands from which it is woven. This music is a rope. The saxophone entwines itself inextricably through, above and around the unearthly vocals of the Hilliard ensemble. Neither the highly disciplined music of the singers, nor the restrained music of the saxophone makes a deeply powerful statement in its own right -- but together, they become something above and beyond, something that completely transcends either genre.

This is an astonishing work. If you have the ability to listen, you will be rewarded beyond your hopes. October 12, 2005

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