Anonymous Four | Medieval & Folk

February 22, 2008

Interview with Anonymous Four: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

We spoke with Marsha Genensky on the show, one of the four stunning singers in the classical quartet Anonymous Four. She told us about their recent folk craze, as well as the early medieval music they specialize in… This interview was a great honor, and paints a small picture of the group that does Tavener and Sacred Harp in the same breath!

More information from their website www.anonymous4.com (a quote taken from the Wall Street Journal):

I first heard Anonymous 4 in 1990 on a mixed program at Music Before 1800, New York’s most important early- music series. A female quartet singing unaccompanied medieval music, the group was only a few years old: little known, unrecorded and without professional management. The singers were extraordinary. Their haunting vocalism, uncovering the depths of this harrowing music, was unlike anything I had ever heard. It was like finding a treasure in the attic. Why weren’t they famous?

Now they are. Anonymous 4’s final New York concert this Sunday evening at Music Before 1800 at the Corpus Christi Church has been sold out since the first week of April, which was also when “American Angels,” the group’s 15th recording for Harmonia Mundi, reached No. 1 on the Billboard classical chart. In the past 14 years, Anonymous 4 has become a powerhouse, popular beyond imagining for an early-music ensemble. Its recordings, which helped put its boutique record company on the map in the U.S., have sold close to 1.3 million units world-wide. When Anonymous 4 announced last February that the 2003-04 season would be its last, presenters began falling all over themselves to secure a date. The concerts have been getting standing — even screaming — ovations, which is gratifying, if a little amazing, for Anonymous 4. “Imagine if we’d had a ‘This Is Spinal Tap’ kind of last tour,” says Jacqueline Horner with a theatrical shudder.

Posted by admin | Filed Under Folk, Classical, MUSICIAN INTERVIEW, PODCAST