Trio Mediaeval - Aquilonis (2014)

Trio Mediaeval - three Scandinavian women whose singing produces "a sound of extraordinary and consoling beauty," says the Boston Globe - offer a collection of polyphony from the medieval to the modern titled after the North Wind, 'Aquilonis'.
On this recording one can sense a reference in the title to the Nordic roots of the singers, as well as the bracing purity of their voices; moreover, the album's repertoire travels from Iceland to Italy, from north to south like the Aquilonis wind. In creatively realising the music of one Saint Thorlak - who died in Iceland just before Christmas 1193 - Trio Mediaeval accompany their vocals with discreetly textural instrumentation. The group has also arranged 12th-century Italian chant and sings 15th-century English carols, with timeless Scandinavian folk melodies in the air, too.

From our contemporary age come pieces by the Swede Anders Jormin (best known as a leading jazz bassist), American William Brooks and Englishman Andrew Smith. Former Hilliard Ensemble tenor John Potter, in his liner notes for 'Aquilonis', aptly describes Trio Mediaeval's ability to "create a synthesis of sound and atmosphere...history and geography blending seamlessly".

The album was recorded, like four of Trio Mediaeval's previous five, at the monastery of St Gerold in the Austrian Alps - in June 2014. It's the first of the trio's discs to feature Berit Opheim, alongside Anna Maria Friman and Linn Andrea Fuglseth.