American Angels: Songs of hope, redemption & glory

Anonymous 4 turns from the medieval repertoire to explore the roots of American sacred music. Developed in Toni Morrison's Atelier program at Princeton in spring 2003, American Angels includes songs of redemption and glory from the time of the American Revolution to the present day: 18th-century psalm settings from rural New England, 19th-century shape-note and camp revival songs from the rural South, and some of the nation's best-loved gospel songs. Drawing from collections including "The Southern Harmony," and "The Sacred Harp," - the album explores the beauty and power of early American sacred music and the relatively obscure form of a cappella choral singing known as Sacred Harp.

Renowned for their unearthly vocal blend and virtuosic ensemble singing, the four women who comprise Anonymous 4 combine musical, literary, and historical scholarship with contemporary performance intuition as they create ingeniously designed programs, interweaving music with poetry and narrative.

Anonymous 4 performs in major cities throughout North America, including New York, Boston, Washington DC, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Chicago, Seattle, and Toronto, among others. Celebrated regulars at major international festivals, Anonymous 4's appearances include Tanglewood (MA), Wolf Trap (VA), BBC Proms (UK), Lucerne International Festival (Switzerland), Flanders Festival (Belgium), International Oude Muziek Festival (Holland), Brisbane Biennial (Australia), and the Bergen Festival (Norway).

Highlights of Anonymous 4's 2002-2003 season include the release of their 12th album, la bele marie: Songs to the Virgin from 13th-century France (harmonia mundi usa), as well as the premiere of Wolcum Yule, a new program of Celtic and British Isles traditional and contemporary music for the Christmas season, with Celtic harp. Two new commissions for the program, by Peter Maxwell Davies and Jocelyn Pook, will be premiered during the 12-concert December tour.

In the realm of contemporary music, Anonymous 4 tours as the voice of Joan of Arc in "Voices of Light," an oratorio with silent film, composed by Richard Einhorn. Anonymous 4 has performed the work under Marin Alsop, with the Vienna Symphony, and at Lincoln Center with Concordia Orchestra, as well as with the Hong Kong Philharmonic under Lucinda Carver. In 2000-2001, Anonymous 4 and the Chilingirian String Quartet premiered John Tavener's newly-commissioned work, "The Bridegroom," and have recorded a program of Tavener's music, "Darkness into Light," for upcoming release. Other new works include Steve Reich's "Know What is Above You," and Richard Einhorn's "A Carnival of Miracles," both commissioned by WNYC Radio.

Anonymous 4 has appeared on a wide range of radio and television programs, including NPR's "All Things Considered," "Performance Today" and "Weekend Edition," MPR's "St. Paul Sunday," WETA's "Millennium of Music," Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion,"ZDF's "Ersteklassich!" (Germany). The ensemble has been featured on A&E's "Breakfast With the Arts," as well as on Discovery Health Channel and Fox News Channel.

Anonymous 4's award-winning recordings for harmonia mundi usa (for whom they record exclusively) have sold over one million copies worldwide. Their debut recording, An English Ladymass, was named 1992 Classical Disc of the Year by CD Review. On Yoolis Night, received France's prestigious Diapason d'Or, and The Lily and the Lamb, was Classic CD's Disc of the Year for 1996. Legends of St. Nicholas was Classic FM's Early Music Recording of the Year for 1999, and 1000: A Mass for the End of Time, was a Gramophone Editor's Choice for 2000. The Second Circle, love songs of the 14th-century Italian composer, Francesco Landini, received Italy's Antonio Vivaldi Award for 2001