Arianna Savall & Petter Udland Johansen
Release Date: 25 June 2012
Label: ECM New Series
Packaging Type: Jewel Case
No of Units: 1
Barcode: 602527843957
Genres: Classical World Music
Description
Hirundo Maris is Latin for "sea swallow" and, like that bird's nomadic flight, singer and harpist Arianna Savall's quintet - part early music ensemble, part folk group - drifts on musical currents between Norway and Catalonia, and adds its own songs, created on the wing. Savall and co-leader Petter Udland Johansen have shaped a band with a bright, glistening timbral blend, capped by Arianna's ice-clear voice, eminently well-equipped to address songs of the north and the south.
Arianna Savall's leader debut for ECM New Series follows her distinguished contributions to Rolf Lislevand's Nuove musiche and to Helena Tulve's Lijnen - sensuous early music on the one hand, bracingly contemporary composition on the other. In both genres she has proven to be a charismatic singer. Hirundo Maris, with its very fresh instrumental textures, takes another trajectory.
Savall and Petter Udland Johansen describe their project as a journey linking the Mediterranean and the North Sea. Near the centre of the sound are Arianna's sparkling harps and the drones of Johansen's Hardanger fiddle; when the colours of the mandolin and more unexpectedly the Dobro (not often heard outside bluegrass contexts) are added, a message is sent about the universality of song as well as of the transatlantic travels of old ballads...
Arianna Savall's voice is already familiar to many who have followed the outstanding work of her parents, Catalan viol master Jordi Savall and singer Montserrat Figueras: until 2008 Arianna played and sang as a member of her father's ensembles, including Hespèrion XXI. This album is dedicated to the memory of her mother, who died in December 2011.
Personnel: Arianna Savall (voice, Gothic harp, Italian triple harp), Petter Udland Johansen (voice, hardanger fiddle, mandolin), Sveinung Lilleheier (guitar, dobro, voice), Miquel Àngel Cordero (double-bass, voice), David Mayoral (percussion, voice)
Tracklisting
Gidon Kremer, Kremerata Baltica & Vida Mikneviciute
Arvo Part
Thomas Larcher
John Holloway Ensemble
Heinz Holliger & Anton Kernjak
Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Tallinn Chamber Orchestra & Tonu Kaljuste
Karlheinz Stockhausen Michaels Reise
Andras Schiff
Madala Kunene
Marechal Papillon
Barbara Hernandez
Lindigo
Ana Frango Eletrico
Juan Pablo Torres Y Algo Nuevo
Lau Ro
Remi Kabaka
