Four Centuries of Chant - Anonymous 4
In 1986 when Anonymous 4 first began singing together in New York City,
it was not common for
vocal ensembles performing early repertoires to
program chant and to explore ways to sing it. For them, however, is was
clear that medieval plainchant was an artistically important and
esthetically rewarding as medieval polyphony. So Anonymous 4 pledged to give
chant its due, in every program of medieval sacred music they might
create. They quickly discovered that the inclusion of chant at
liturgically appropriate places enhanced the nature and beauty of the
polyphonic pieces they programmed, and that the polyphony, in turn,
revealed the splendor of the chant. Restoring (to even a small extent)
a musical balance between chant and polyphony was a revelaition.
Four Centuries of Chant is a compilation of works Anonymous 4 has performed and recorded since their inception.
