BIS Records Signs Acclaimed Classical Vocal Quartet New York Polyphony

09.08.11
New York Polyphony

Male classical vocal quartet New York Polyphony, who received international acclaim with the CDs I sing the birth (2007) and Tudor City (2010), has signed an exclusive recording contract with BIS Records.  Slated for Spring 2012 release, their first album on BIS will feature rare and never-before recorded works from the Flemish Renaissance by composers Thomas Crecquillon, Antoine Brumel and Jacob Clemens non Papa.

Founded in 2006, New York Polyphony has emerged as one of the preeminent vocal chamber ensembles in the fields of early and new music.  Praised for a "rich, natural sound that's larger and more complex than the sum of its parts" (National Public Radio), the four men scored a hit with their current CD Tudor City, spending three weeks in the Top 10 of Billboard magazine's classical album chart.

In February of this year, New York Polyphony signed a worldwide general management contract with Opus 3 Artists.  The ensemble maintains an active performing schedule and 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 Pipeworks and Ardee Baroque Festivals, and the Vestfold Festspillene in Tønsberg, Norway.  Future engagements include the premiere of Gregory Brown's Missa Charles Darwin, a secular Mass setting based on Darwin's On The Origin Of Species; a residency at Dartmouth College November 2011; and an appearance at the Festival de Música de Morelia, Mexico.


BIS Records, founded in 1973 by its current president Robert von Bahr, has developed a reputation for recording eclectic repertoire, including early music as well as works by many contemporary composers, ranging from Kalevi Aho to Christopher Rouse. The more than 1,500 titles in the BIS catalogue (www.bis.se) also include many mainstays of the concert hall, from a Tchaikovsky cycle with Neeme Järvi to a Bach Cantata cycle with the Bach Collegium Japan, as well as Osmo Vänskä conducting Minnesota Orchestra in Beethoven's Symphonies.  Based in Sweden, the label also has a strong suit in Nordic repertoire, crowned by the recently completed Sibelius Edition, comprising 68 discs with all the music the composer ever wrote.  The enterprising choice of repertoire as well as the superior sound quality of its releases has made BIS one of the most highly respected record labels internationally.