Grammy nomination for Hillier and Ars Nova

Ars Nova Copenhagen have been nominated in the category "Best Choral Performance" for the album The Natural World of Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen, released on Dacapo Records.

Ars Nova Copenhagen's chief conductor Paul Hillier, who is one of the world's most highly reputed choral conductors, lives in Denmark today and is a great admirer of the music of Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen. Hillier says in response to the nomination:

"I'm incredibly pleased that Pelle's music in particular has been awarded this token of esteem. We may hope that the Grammy nomination will help to make his music even better known internationally, for it really deserves to be. And to be quite frank, I'm rather proud of our achievement on this CD. It's difficult music, but it's also fantastic music!"

Henrik Rørdam, managing director of Dacapo Records, says:
"It's fantastic to see that a Danish release can be part of the absolute top rank of the music business like this. Everything really gelled on this CD, where an ensemble and a conductor in the international league go to work on one of the most distinctive composer voices of our generation - and all reproduced in the finest sound quality."

Sung in Danish

The Natural World of Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen was released in January and has been praised throughout the year by music critics world-wide. It doesn't appear to have deterred either The Recording Academy or a succession of international reviewers that many of the works on the now Grammy-nominated CD are sung in Danish.

The CD was produced by Timbre Music and is an SACD production that can be played in either surround sound or ordinary stereo. The Natural World of Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen recently won the Danish Radio's P2 Prize 2011.

See the complete list of the year's Grammy nominations here

About the Grammy

The Grammy Awards are a bouquet of American prizes awarded every year in February by The Recording Academy for the year's best recorded performance in the music business. This year no fewer than 108 categories are represented at the Awards, which take place in February 2012 at the Staples Center, Los Angeles.

A Grammy Award can be said to be the music business's answer to the movie business's Oscar. Grammy Awards are thus beyond comparison the most prestigious prizes in the classical music sector - in America as well as internationally. The annual Grammy show is one of the biggest commercial events in the American music industry, and is shown on TV by CBS all over the world.

PRESS QUOTES

"Ars Nova's sound is rarefied and superbly focused...This is music of rare skill and beauty, magnificently sung...don't hesitate." MusicWeb International

"Les Trois scenes esquissent un monde exuberant, imprévisible, plein d'humour, qui s'ouvre sur des rues animées, traverse un bois où chantent les oiseaux" Diapason

"Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen's music is a clever exercise in Danish Modern." American Record Guide (USA)

"Destacan, como siempre, un gran equilibrio y una nitidez extraordinaria. Paul Hillier extrae de ellos todo el jugo y aporta su experiencia en un disco para recordar." Ritmo (Spanien)

"Reveals itself as of extreme beauty." Musical Pointers (England)