Symphony of the Harmony of Celestial Revelations: The Complete Hildegard von Bingen, Vol. 1
Sinfonye, founded in 1987 by Stevie Wishart, and joined by  Vivien Ellis and Jocelyn West, was conceived as an ensemble combining  improvisatory skills derived from traditional music with performance  practices recreated from historical research, with a particular interest in  repertories sung, inspired or composed by women. Since its conception,  Sinfonye has performed throughout Europe and Australia. In addition to  their group work, the members also maintain active solo careers.Stevie  Wishart developed her musical studies at the University of York where she  specialised in composition, electronic music, ethnomusicology, and medieval  music (B.A. Hons). She continued at postgraduate level at the Guildhall  School of Music and Drama (Diploma in Advanced Performance). With a Vicente  Canada Blanch Fellowship at the University of Oxford she researched  representations of medieval music in the visual arts taking Spain and the  Mozarabic world as the main focus. (M.Litt unfinished D.Phil, under the  direction of Christopher Page).It is from this initial study of  iconography that an involvement in multimedia contexts for her music  performance developed. Formative hands-on time was also spent following  contact with John Cage and David Tudor while playing at the Edinburgh  Fringe Festival, and with traditional fiddle players in Istanbul and  Rajasthan, as well as studying the hurdy-gurdy with Valentin Clastrier in  central France.As a composer and performer on violin, hurdy-gurdy, voice  and electronics, Wishart's music explores medieval and contemporary  extremes. Moving between Australia and Europe, her work also draws on these  contrasting landscapes and histories (bush/urban).Historical research  and development of her ensemble Sinfonye's repertories (c1000 to 1400) have  led to a discovery of female poet-composers and music written for female  voices and been the inspiration for eight CDs of medieval love lyrics and  related instrumental music, and her ongoing series of the Complete Songs of  Hildegard of Bingen with a multimedia program of Hildegard's music and  visions currently being revised following Sinfonye's performances in the  Adelaide festival and London's Queen Elizabeth Hall.With a keen  involvement in improvised and electronic music, Stevie Wishart has formed a  compositional style which frequently combines various forms of musical  notation and recorded sound. Collaborations and commissions include  projects for dance, theatre, film, and radio, as well as her relationship  with Celestial Harmonies in the United States.Vivien Ellis, singer and  voice workshop leader, joined Sinfonye in 1989. Her research into the roots  of singing in Europe have taken her to Bulgaria, France, Spain, and  Corsica. Jocelyn West, playing fiddle since the age of six, studied with  Suzanne Rozsa at the Purcell School of Music and the Guildhall School of  Music. Hester Briant, Vickie Couper, Fiona Cunningham, Tara Franks, Emily  Levy, Julie Murphy, and Lucy Steele, members of The Oxford Girls Choir,  join Sinfonye for this celestial celebration.