** Paul Hillier and the Theatre of Voices, with Terry Riley

LITANY FOR THE WHALE, BY JOHN CAGE

(Harmonia Mundi)

Paul Hillier directs and sings with a vocal group, the Hilliard Ensemble, that's known for its interpretations of early music, but he maintains an interest in new music and has worked with the likes of Steve Reich. This CD is his ode to John Cage: in the liner notes he remarks that he's been working toward this recording ever since the founding of the Theatre of Voices.

The program is a well-chosen selection of Cage's vocal music, illustrating a number of his techniques and concerns. Yet others have interpreted Cage with far greater subtlety and musicality. Hillier can make Cage sound almost like chant, or he can let loose an exuberant palette of sounds that border on the silly; but what he never uses to effect is Cage's principal material: silence. The Theatre of Voices fill every available space in these pieces, depriving them of their quality of delicate surprise. This CD may bring Cage's music to some who would otherwise not have heard it, by relating it to more popular forms of classical music, but in the context of other Cage recordings, it's not a major contribution.

-- Damon Krukowski