Polyhymnia – Past Concerts

Polyhymnia is a 16-member professional vocal ensemble specializing in performances of choral music composed between 1450 and 1650.

The ensemble has been artists-in-residence at the Church of Saint Ignatius of Antioch on Manhattan's Upper West Side for nearly two decades.

Our mission is both performance- and research-based. Working with libraries, historians, and choirmasters, both here and abroad, Polyhymnia strives to preserve and reintroduce choral masterworks of the Renaissance and early Baroque in ways that both entertain and enlighten. Artistic Director John Bradley frequently produces performing editions of music for the ensemble. Working from original manuscripts, some untouched since the 16th century, he has given his singers and his audience an opportunity to experience music that rarely is heard elsewhere.

Our annual three-concert season offers works by well-known Renaissance composers such as Orlande de Lassus, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, and Thomas Tallis, balanced by music by lesser-known and less frequently performed composers such as Christopher Tye, Cipriano de Rore, and Philippe Rogier. Our goal is to increase the visibility and accessibility of Renaissance choral repertoire.