El cant de la Sibil.la
El cant de la Sibil.la de Barcelona
Draumkvedet
El cant de la Sibil.la de Girona
Hirundo Maris
Ensemble Vocal de Saint Maurice/Charles Barbier, Petter Urland Johansen
rec. 2023, Christkatholische Kirche St. Martin, Magden, Switzerland
Carpe Diem Records 16337 [79]
Hirundo Maris (Sea Swallow) is a group that specialises in early music from the Middle Ages to Baroque, as well as their own compositions and early fusion. It was founded in 2009, in Basil, by Arianna Savall and Petter Urland Johansen. The creative nature of their musical partnership focuses particularly on Mediterranean and Nordic music. Since time immemorial, routes across seas and music have linked the Iberian Peninsula with Scandinavia, and Hirundo Maris retraces those steps.
On this recording Hirundo Maris explore the great mystery chants of Spain and Norway; they present the enigmatic chants of the Middle Ages, Spain’s El cant de la Sibil.la and Norway’s Draumkvedet. Traditionally sung on Christmas Night, both convey an apocalyptic vision of the world’s end, and the dawn of a new era. The music blurs the boundaries in this after-world, evokes the mysteries of winter, transporting the listener to mystical realms.
The song of Sibil comes from antiquity, but the first musical presence can be found in the 13th century. It is the song of the Apocalypse, of final judgement, but also of the coming of the new world. The beauty of hope through forgiveness is conveyed in the song by the wise voice of a female figure. This programme presents the first Sibil which is sung in Catalan; found in the Cathedral of Barcelona, it was written down in 1415.The other Sibil chosen is from Girona, written down in 1550, but possibly sung before then.
Draumkvedet (The Dream Poem) is an enigmatic piece of Norwegian folklore, regarded as one of the country’s most valuable cultural treasures. The haunting verses tell of a dream journey in the after- life, symbolic of life death and redemption. In presenting this ballad, Hirundu Maris not only preserve the essence of the original, but they embellish it with new musical perspectives. The new choral and instrumental music in this rendition have been exclusively composed by Petter Urland Johansen
On this recording there are 45 tracks, one as short as 0.22, another 5:03 long. To avoid the potential perception of ‘sameness’, the programme presents solo voice, voice with accompaniment, and items by instrumental ensemble. The beautiful voice of Arianna Savall is most complementary to the essence and genre of the music; the resonant tenor voice of Urland executes a carefully considered dimension to the overall performance. The four other individual musicians who perform on this disc along with the Ensemble Vocal de Saint Maurice, in the various roles performed, produce music and sound of unique beauty.
To succumb to initial impressions, and describe this programme as fascinating, inadequately reflects the overall beauty and substance of what is offered on this disc. Every aspect of the performance is commendable, and a memorable adventure in music and recording sonics.
Most will probably be unfamiliar with the Carpe Diem (seize the day) label. It specialises in music of this kind, but also has a catalogue of eclectic music. Their web site is informative, and the time allocation for sound sampling is very generous; highly recommended for a visit. The cover of this particular CD is dark blue/green with black writing. This may be considered artistic, but it won’t win any accolades for visual access.
Zane Turner
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Performers
Arianna Savall (soprano, gothic harp, Trossingen lyre,Norwegian Kravik lyre, singing bowls)
Petter Udland Johansen (tenor, hardingfele, renaissance fiddle)
Ian Harrison (shawm, whistles, bagpipes, mute cornett)
Sveinung Lillenheier (dobro d’amour)
Miguel Angel Cordero (medieval bass, fiddle, violone)
David Mayoral (percussions, bells, santur)
