• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Spellbinding Music

Genre-bending & spine-tingling

  • Home
  • About
  • Books
  • Subscribe
  • Contact

Trio Mediæval & Arve Henriksen: Rímur

September 14, 2017 By guillaume

Based and formed in Oslo in 1997, Trio Mediæval is a Norwegian/Swedish vocal ensemble whose repertoire features a wide range of medieval music from France, England or Italy, traditional Folk songs and ballads from the Nordic countries as well as contemporary music written for the trio by Gavin Bryars, the New-York-based collective Bang on a Can or David Lang for instance. Always thriving in a collaborative or improvisational mode, Anna Maria Friman (the Swedish-born member of the trio), Linn Andrea Fuglseth and Berit Opheim (who replaced Torunn Østrem Ossum in December 2013) have toured on many occasions over the last ten years with fellow Norwegian trumpet player and improviser Arve Henriksen.

Already on his superb 2008 release Cartography, Anna Maria Friman was a guest vocalist on one track and “Recording Angel” included a sample song from the trio. The trio also collaborated recently with the trumpet player on Sinikka Langeland’s 2016 release The Magical Forest. Recording a common repertoire for the first time, the musicians released Rímur on 3 March 2017 last on ECM Records.

Trio Mediæval & Arve Henriksen - Rímur (2017)
Trio Mediæval & Arve Henriksen – Rímur (2017)

Back in 1994, Norwegian musician Jan Garbarek wonderfully pitched his saxophones against the medieval polyphonic singing of the all-male voice quartet The Hilliard Ensemble. All sung in Latin, the performances on Officium included a repertoire ranging from early chants of unknown origin to 12th century hymns or polyphonic motets collected from various manuscripts.

Emulating a similar concept, the all-female trio and the trumpet of Arve Henriksen adopt this time a repertoire of hymns, folk songs and improvisations collected from sources in Iceland, Norway and Sweden. The album takes its name from the Rímur, the rhyming narrative verses found in the Icelandic tradition and which have been orally transmitted over the centuries.

It’s hard for us to imagine now, but until quite late in the medieval period relatively little sacred polyphony was heard at all. Monophonic chant was the rock on which almost all musical experience was founded. In this context, even music composed for just two voices would have made a very special impression.

As well as that, “improvisation has always been a natural and important part of Nordic oral tradition” notes Anna Maria Friman. As is often the case with tradition, different singers will have their own version of a particular song. Improvisation gave them the opportunity to add their own variations to songs which would then evolve naturally over time. Yet, in most cases, only one version was written down or recorded by collectors.

Trio Mediæval & Arve Henriksen on pocket trumpet – Alma Redemptorist Mater

The repertoire assembled on Rímur by the musicians reflects this approach: rejuvenating an age-old monophonic or two-voice repertoire and adapting it for three voices by introducing harmony and counterpoint. Arve Henriksen then acts as a fourth voice with a brass instrument naturally versed in improvisation.

On “O Jesu dulcissime” or “Du Är Den Första”, hardanger fiddle and shruti box complement the soundscape and provide additional rhythm or drone. “Krummi” is the only new composition on Rímur. Featuring wordless vocals from the trio along Arve Henriksen’s trademark ethereal trumpet lines, the song perhaps paves the way for a future collaborative project.

https://www.triomediaeval.no/
http://www.arvehenriksen.com/

Filed Under: Classical, Contemporary, Jazz Tagged With: Arve Henriksen, songwriting, Trio Mediaeval, trumpet, voice

Subscribe to Spellbinding Music

Never miss a post and subscribe to Spellbinding Music via email. Receive weekly and enchanting musical updates straight into your inbox - and it's free!

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

About

Spellbinding Music is a blog which curates contemporary, modern classical, roots, electronic, jazz and folk music…and everything in between. ... [Continue Reading]

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Most Read this week

Follow via Email

Search

Recent Posts

Yumi Ito - Stardust Crystals (2020)

Yumi Ito: Stardust Crystals

Lau Nau - Poseidon (2017)

Lau Nau: Poseidon

Stéphane Tsapis - Le Piano Oriental (2019)

Stéphane Tsapis: Le Piano Oriental

Mary Lattimore - Silver Ladders (2020)

Mary Lattimore: Silver Ladders

Azu Tiwaline - Draw Me A Silence (2020)

Azu Tiwaline: Draw Me A Silence/Magnetic Service

Hania Rani - Home (2020)

Hania Rani: Home

Before Footer

Birds on a Wire - Ramages (2020)
Nadah El Shazly - Ahwar (2017)
Brigid Mae Power - Head Above the Water (2020)
Anna Mieke - Idle-Mind (2019)
Conor Walsh - The-Lucid (2019) - artwork © Louise Gaffney
Seán Mac Erlaine - Music for Empty Ears (2018) - Artwork © Distinctive Repetition
Khruangbin - Con Todo El Mundo (2018)

Footer

  • Home
  • About
  • Books
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2021 Spellbinding Music | Website by Pagecrafted

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies.Accept Reject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.