I am a great admirer of the Hilliard Ensemble and admire the 2 albums
made with Jan Garbarek the saxophonist.  However the sheer antithesis of
this collaboration bemuses me.  How can these 2 albums unite the masses so
that they are in the Classic FM charts!  I would hardly say the Parce mihi
domine + soprano saxophone is the most enthralling of works.  However these
albums are absolutely mesmeric!  Almost on a par with Arvo Part another of
my musicians of the millenium!!  The medieval work itself falls into a very
low 'dissonance level', something I have worked out laboriously using a
formula.  Does this make the ultimate smooth classic? The least dissonant
pieces of course are either single voices a cappella or voices in unison.
Jan Garbarek seems to have the knack of raising the technical dissonance
level yet still producing the cerebral serenity of the original!

Your thoughts are invited!

Nicholas J Roberts
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http://www.advsys.co.uk/ia2329