New York Polyphony is establishing a reputation as one of the world’s finest vocal ensembles. Praised for a “rich, natural sound that’s larger and more complex than the sum of its parts” (National Public Radio), the four men of NYP deliver dynamic performances in a wide range of styles. The quartet applies not only refined musicianship and interpretive detail but also a uniquely modern sensibility to its varied repertoire, which ranges from austere medieval melodies to cutting-edge contemporary works.
In 2011, New York Polyphony signed an exclusive recording contract with acclaimed record label BIS Records.
endBeginning, their first album on BIS, is slated for release Spring 2012 and will feature rare and never-before recorded works from the Franco-Flemish Renaissance.
Hailed as a “stunning tour through chant, polyphony and renaissance harmonies” (Minnesota Public Radio), their most recent CD
Tudor City spent three weeks in the Top 10 of Billboard’s classical album chart. It has been featured on Danish Public Radio, American Public Radio and NPR’s
All Things Considered.
NYP’s debut CD
I sing the birth, released in 2007, garnered unanimous praise.
BBC Music Magazine selected it as Editor’s Christmas Choice 2007,
Gramophone named it “one of the season’s best”, and
Classic FM Magazine hailed it as “a disc for all seasons.”
Since its founding in 2006, New York Polyphony has maintained an active performance schedule. The ensemble has participated in major concert series and festivals throughout the U.S. and Europe, including the Miller Theatre Early Music Series at Columbia University; Dallas Chamber Music Series; Ireland's Ardee Baroque Festival; Denmark's Vendsyssel Festival; Festival de Música de Morelia, Mexico; and the Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center. NYP has been heard on
Footprints to Paradise: A Medieval Christmas for Public Radio International,
New Classical Tracks for Minnesota Public Radio, and
Performance Today for National Public Radio.
Recent engagements include a residency at Dartmouth College, the premiere of the
Missa Charles Darwin—a newly commissioned secular Mass setting based on texts of Charles Darwin by composer Gregory Brown—at a TEDx event in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, and a broadcast holiday event for Minnesota Public Radio. In December 2011, New York Polyphony made its national television debut on
The Martha Stewart Show.
NEW YORK POLYPHONY is:
Geoffrey Williams, countertenor
Steven Caldicott Wilson, tenor
Christopher Dylan Herbert, baritone
Craig Phillips, bass
Audio Clips:
Surrexit Christus by Andrew Smith from the album Tudor City (Avie Records)
Away in a manger from the album I Sing the Birth (Avie Records)
Sequentia: Confutatis - Pie Jesu
Missa pro defunctis
Antoine Brumel
from the BIS Records CD endBeginning (BIS-SACD-1949)
© 2011 & © 2012, BIS Records AB, Åkersberg
