It’s not often you get to record a world premiere of a work written nearly 500 years ago – let alone five of them! But that’s exactly what Queen’s Phoenix has recorded on its debut album, A Voice From Heaven, which focuses on the works of 16th-century Franco-Flemish composer Pierre de Manchicourt.

Supported by the NSW government through Create NSW, the album is a product of a confluence of several events, in particular the creation of performance editions of Manchicourt’s work, and a desire by a group of chorister friends to come together and perform after many months of inactivity due to the pandemic.

One of the driving forces behind this recording, composer and singer Brooke Shelley, spoke to Limelight about this unique undertaking.

Brooke Shelley

Brooke Shelley. Image © Siobhan Hegarty

Tell us about the background to these recordings. What made you think of Manchicourt? And what inspired you to record these pieces?

A good friend of mine, Andrew Fysh, had become addicted to producing modern editions of polyphonic music and uploading them on Choral Public Domain Library, particularly works by the Franco-Flemish High Renaissance composer, Pierre de Manchicourt. I am ashamed...