Words Of The Angel

Trio Mediaeval

Released on 12/10/2001 by ECM New Series
Main artists: Trio Mediæval
Genre: Classical

Available in

16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo

Unlimited Streaming

Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps

Start my trial period and start listening to this album

Enjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription

Digital Download

Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.

Would that it were possible to give a debut recording a higher rating. The Trio Mediaeval is a remarkable group of women from Scandanavia whose repertoire consists of contemporary works and medieval compositions, as well as Baroque church music. This recording comprises a Messe de Tournai of polyphonic mass movements from a 14th century text and is interspersed with motets and songs from roughly the same period, including a number of works from English manuscripts. There is also a small collection of monophonic music Laude verses from the 13th century, and Ivan Moody's glorious Words of the Angel inserted as part of the mass, the lone contemporary work in the set. Produced by the Hilliard Ensemble's John Potter, the Trio has accomplished the unthinkable in taking a body of music that was meant solely for the voices of men, and transformed it into a multiphonic soprano's paradise. While the intonations presented a number of problems, the group takes the source material and treats it as if it were contemporary music and skates a wonderfully razored line of innovation and reverence that moves from mere academic inquiry -- something to despise in classical music -- into a terrain of mystery, depth, and an ambiguous austerity that actually feels like the music of prayer. So often, either the music director or the technical gifts of individual singers bury the soul of a medieval manuscript under technique and the secular sheen of primary academic indulgence. Here, despite the presence of truly inspiring vocal gifts -- being able to shape a stark musical line with warmth and aplomb while adding structure and aesthetic form to a series of works that were separate until the present recording -- the texts themselves and their prayerful intention are given full expression by this wonderful group. Their treatment of Moody's Words of the Angel (a young composer of 37 who studied with John Tavener and belongs to the Orthodox Church) is offered the same reverential space, placing it in a timeless continuum with the other works here that are centuries older. The projected polyphony takes the Eastern motifs and weaves them seamlessly into the earlier medieval ideal without perverting or altering in any way the composer's intentions. Only time will tell, of course, but Words of the Angel, with its inspiring performance and heartfelt, mystical longings, will most likely become a recording of reference for decades to come.

© Thom Jurek /TiVo

More info

Words Of The Angel

Trio Mediæval

You are currently listening to samples.

Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.

Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.

From £10.83/month

Alma mater - Ante thorum ((traditional))

Traditional: Alma mater - Ante thorum

Anna Maria Friman

00:02:34

Traditional, ComposerLyricist - John Potter, Producer - Manfred Eicher, Producer, Executive Producer - Anna Maria Friman, Voice, AssociatedPerformer - Trio Mediaeval, Ensemble, MainArtist - Linn Andrea Fuglseth, Voice, AssociatedPerformer - Peter Länger, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Torunn Ostrem Ossum, Voice, AssociatedPerformer

℗ 2001 ECM Records GmbH

Ave donna santissima ((traditional))

Traditional: Ave donna santissima

Linn Andrea Fuglseth

00:03:04

Traditional, ComposerLyricist - John Potter, Producer - Manfred Eicher, Producer, Executive Producer - Linn Andrea Fuglseth, Voice, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Peter Länger, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel

℗ 2001 ECM Records GmbH

Salve mater misericordie ((traditional))

Traditional: Salve mater misericordie

Anna Maria Friman

00:02:23

℗ 2001 ECM Records GmbH

La Messe de Tournai ((traditional))

1. Kyrie

Anna Maria Friman

00:01:46

℗ 2001 ECM Records GmbH

2. Gloria

Anna Maria Friman