Anonymous 4 was an American female a cappella quartet, founded in 1986 and based in New York City. Their main performance genre was medieval music, although later they also premiered works by recent composers such as John Tavener and Steve Reich.
The name of the group is a pun on the name used to refer to an anonymous English music theorist of the late 13th century, Anonymous IV, who is the principal source on the two famous composers of the Notre Dame school, Léonin and Pérotin.
Anonymous 4 performed in cities throughout North America, and were regulars at major international festivals. The 2003–2004 season was their last as a full-time recording and touring ensemble, but they continued to tour and make recordings while pursuing individual projects.
The group collaborated with the Chilingirian Quartet on their 2003 album Darkness Into Light and The Mountain Goats on their 2012 album Transcendental Youth as well as with Christopher Tin in 2009 on his album Calling All Dawns, and in 2014 on The Drop That Contained the Sea.
The CD 1865, which features songs from the Civil War with Bruce Molsky on guitar, fiddle, banjo, and vocals was their final recording. The ensemble disbanded at the end of the 2015–2016 season.
Lineup The original lineup included Johanna Maria Rose, Marsha Genensky, Susan Hellauer, and Ruth Cunningham. In 1998, Cunningham left and was replaced by Jacqueline Horner-Kwiatek. In 2008, Cunningham returned to the group in place of Johanna Maria Rose until their 2016 disbanding. Genensky grew up in California in the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains; Hellauer was born and raised in the Bronx, New York; Cunningham was brought up in Millbrook, New York; Rose grew up in the village of Grand View-on-Hudson, New York; and Horner-Kwiatek is from Monkstown, County Antrim, in Northern Ireland (she won her Green Card in the Diversity Immigrant Visa program, commonly known as the "Green Card Lottery").
Discography Name Date Label FormatAn English Ladymass: Medieval Chant and Polyphony1992Harmonia MundiCDOn Yoolis Night: Medieval Carols and Motets for Christmas1993Harmonia MundiCDLove's Illusion: Music From The Montpellier Codex 13th Century1994Harmonia MundiCDThe Lily and the Lamb: Chant & Polyphony from Medieval England1994Harmonia MundiCDVoices of Light1995Sony Classical RecordsCDAncient Voices 1995Harmonia MundiCDMiracles of Sant'Iago1996Harmonia MundiCDA Star in the East – Medieval Hungarian Christmas Music 1996Harmonia MundiCDPortrait of Anonymous 41997Harmonia MundiCDHildegard von Bingen – 11,000 Virgins: Chants for the Feast of St. Ursula1997Harmonia MundiCDA Lammas Ladymass: 13th and 14th Century English Chant and Polyphony1998Harmonia MundiCDLegends of St. Nicholas1999Harmonia MundiCD1000: A Mass for the End of Time1999Harmonia MundiCDThe Second Circle: Love Songs of Francesco Landini2001Harmonia MundiCDLa bele Marie: Songs to the Virgin from 13th-Century France2002Harmonia MundiCDDarkness into Light – John Tavener2003Harmonia MundiCDWolcum Yule2003Harmonia MundiCDAmerican Angels2004Harmonia MundiCDThe Origin of Fire: Hildegard von Bingen2005Harmonia MundiCDCarols and Chants for Christmas2005Harmonia MundiCDGloryland2006Harmonia MundiCDMiracles of Compostela2008Harmonia MundiCDFour Centuries of Chant2009Harmonia MundiCDThe Cherry Tree2010Harmonia MundiCDSecret Voices: Chant & Polyphony from the Las Huelgas Codex, c. 13002011Harmonia MundiCDMarie et Marion2014Harmonia MundiCDlove fail2014CantaloupeCD (A work composed for the group by David Lang using texts by such writers as Lydia Davis)18652015Harmonia MundiCDThree Decades Of Anonymous 4: 1986–20162016Harmonia MundiCD (A retrospective collection of highlights from the 30-year collaboration with Harmonia Mundi, with repertoire ranging from 12th-century ecstatic chant to American roots music.)
References
External links
Discography at SonyBMG Masterworks Two entries ([ first], [ second]) on AllMusic