Mesmerised by magic of medieval music
The group of sopranos captures the natural, strange beauty of medieval music, mixed with some folk and carefully chosen contemporary music. The Norwegian trio’s ability to combine sheer joy in music with transcendent beauty and technical perfection has made them hugely popular.
Fans of Trio Mediaeval’s Grammy award-winning album Folk Songs will be glad to see that the second half of their programme is devoted to folk songs. Most of these will be new to Irish ears, with a few familiar works from their 2007 album. The set will feature some of the group’s captivating tralling, the Norwegian equivalent of Irish mouth music.
The Irish tour features two singers who are not part of the original line-up. Each of the original singers have young families and other projects on the go in addition to the group, while the last 15 months have seen a spell of ill-health for Torunn Østrem Ossum who, happily, is due to rejoin the original members from May.
“I’m actually the only one from the original trio singing on this tour,” says Anna Maria Fridman. “Berit Opheim is one of Norway’s foremost folk singers. She was my stand-in when I was at home with the children. And Catherine King from England who will also join us is another stand-in. We have been singing in different constellations recently but it is still very much Trio Mediaeval. The original members will always have first choice but we find this much more flexible for the group.”
The first half of the concert features a version of the Worcester Ladymass, which the Trio recorded for ECM in 2011. Nicky Losseff, the group’s editor for all their Mediaeval music, compiled it from surviving manuscripts that escaped the destruction of the Reformation, as scraps used for binding.
“It’s impossible to know what this music sounded like in Mediaeval times and the way that singers used their voices,” Friman says. “The context that we hear it in today is incredibly different. It was supposed to be directed at God and performed in front of people in a religious context.
“There is some historical information available to us but one of the thrilling things about it is the parts where we lack information. You can really use your own musicality. The way we choose to use our voices is very much our own.”
Fridman is attracted by the music’s ethereal nature. “The music is so beautiful. You can sort of dream away as you listen to it and just let it come to you. You can read the translation of the text if you want, but I find it best to just let the music speak for itself.”
Since the mass contained no Credo, the trio commissioned one from composer Gavin Bryars.
“He wrote something that fits with the work but that is at the same time something else. Mediaeval music doesn’t use a huge vocal range but he can use the whole range and do different things with the harmonies and create different sounds,” says Fridman.
Mon, Apr 8, Navan (Solstice Arts Centre, 8pm); Tues, Apr 9, Dublin (St Audoen’s Church, Cornmarket 8pm); Thurs, Apr 11, Cork (Triskel Christchurch, 8pm); Fri, Apr 12, Dundalk (St Nicholas Church of Ireland, 8pm); Sat, April 13, Belfast (Upstairs, The MAC, 8pm); Sun, Apr 14, Clifden (Church of Ireland, 8pm); Mon, Apr 15, Castlebar (Linenhall Arts Centre, 8pm).
