Elysium is a vocal ensemble dedicated to expanding the boundaries of early music. The singers explore the intersection of early music with folk traditions and experiment with alternative forms of presentation.

The four American women first crossed paths in Europe through their work with the medieval vocal ensemble Sequentia. Their first project was the recording of Auvergne Chants (Decca Records), innovative contemporary arrangements of traditional French folk melodies.  Elysium then turned its focus towards home, developing a program of American music, ranging from early shape note songs to the folk ballads of the Appalachian mountains. Since then, the singers have returned to the medieval music which brought them together.

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Reviews

"The great accomplishment of the vocal quartet is above all in the precise execution of the many ornaments and embellishments...The quartet sparkles thanks to its clear and perfectly matched voices."  Der Rheinpfalz

"The all-women´s ensemble Elysium hardly strived to reach Botticelli´s angels who sang behind them, nor any other elysian sounds.  Rather, they attained an extremely fascinatingly earthly and modern sound-image. They began with Italian Laudas of the Trecento and transformed them using the harp.  Both their unisono singing and their soli showed how well all four women are in their element in this music."  Concerto Magazine

"It was originally medieval music which brought the four together, and the capability for unison singing, secure intonation, and polyphonic self-control which is necessary there also works to the benefit of the folk program....Their four completely different voices (their owners come from Iowa, California, Massachusetts and NY City) showed masterful naturalness."  Frankfurter Rundschau