O Magnum Mysterium – The Tiffany Consort

Grammy Nominee CD

This is a collection of sublime choral works by Byrd, Lauridsen, Palestrina, Poulenc, Victoria and others performed with luminous beauty by the eight unaccompanied virtuoso singers of The Tiffany Consort. Featured are no fewer than seven settings of the O Magnum Mysterium text, including Victoria’s complete mass and a world premiere setting by Tiffany Consort Founder and Director, Nicholas White.

The Tiffany Consort was founded in 2003 to bring together several of New York’s finest singers with the intention of presenting virtuosic choral music from all periods, one voice to a part, under the direction of Nicholas White. While the core of the ensemble is eight soloists, the number of singers varies according to the specific repertoire to be performed. The group made its much-praised debut in two concerts, which featured the complete motets of Johann Sebastian Bach, in March of 2003 sung one voice to a part without accompaniment. The success of these performances led to a full season of works to be presented on St. Michael’s Music and Arts 2003-2004 concert season, at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church in Manhattan. The ensemble performed three programs highlighting composers from England, Italy and Germany – Byrd & Britten, Palestrina & Scarlatti, Schutz & Brahms. In addition to the trademark performing style of one voice to a part, the group’s main interest lies in juxtaposing works of Medieval and Renaissance composers with those of 20th Century or Modern day composers. Tiffany actively pursues the commissioning of new works which pair well with ancient masterpieces, all fitting the performing resources of our ensemble. This is the first commercial recording of the Tiffany Consort.