Release Date: 01 December 2014
Label: Ecm Records
Packaging Type: Jewel Case
No of Units: 1
Barcode: 028948111602
Genres: Classical  
Release Date: 01 December 2014
Label: Ecm Records
Packaging Type: Jewel Case
No of Units: 1
Barcode: 028948111602
Genres: Classical  
Description
Trio Mediaeval - three Scandinavian women whose singing produces "a sound of extraordinary and consoling beauty," says the Boston Globe - offer a collection of polyphony from the medieval to the modern titled after the North Wind, 'Aquilonis'.
On this recording one can sense a reference in the title to the Nordic roots of the singers, as well as the bracing purity of their voices; moreover, the album's repertoire travels from Iceland to Italy, from north to south like the Aquilonis wind. In creatively realising the music of one Saint Thorlak - who died in Iceland just before Christmas 1193 - Trio Mediaeval accompany their vocals with discreetly textural instrumentation. The group has also arranged 12th-century Italian chant and sings 15th-century English carols, with timeless Scandinavian folk melodies in the air, too.
From our contemporary age come pieces by the Swede Anders Jormin (best known as a leading jazz bassist), American William Brooks and Englishman Andrew Smith. Former Hilliard Ensemble tenor John Potter, in his liner notes for 'Aquilonis', aptly describes Trio Mediaeval's ability to "create a synthesis of sound and atmosphere...history and geography blending seamlessly".
The album was recorded, like four of Trio Mediaeval's previous five, at the monastery of St Gerold in the Austrian Alps - in June 2014. It's the first of the trio's discs to feature Berit Opheim, alongside Anna Maria Friman and Linn Andrea Fuglseth.
Personnel: Anna Maria Friman (voice, hardanger fiddle, melody chimes), Linn Andrea Fuglseth (voice, portable organ, melody chimes), Berit Opheim (voice, melody chimes)
Tracklisting
John Surman
Marcin Wasilewski Trio & Joe Lovano
Sebastian Rochford
Elina Duni, Rob Luft, Fred Thomas & Matthieu Michel
Keith Jarrett
Mette Henriette
Keith Jarrett
Jakob Bro, Arve Henriksen & Jorge Rossy
ELISION Ensemble
The Royal Wind Music
Jonatan Alvarado; Ariel Abramovich
Graindelavoix; Bjorn Schmelzer
Heinrich-Isaac-Ensemble; ensemble officium
Anita Cerquetti
Leipzig String Quartet
Holger Falk (baritone), Steffen Schleiermacher (piano)