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Jan Garbarek: Officium Novum

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: ECM Records
Released: 2010.09.17
Time:
 61:03
Category: Jazz
Producer(s): Manfred Eicher
Rating:
Media type: CD
Web address: www.garbarek.com
Appears with: Keith Jarrett, Eberhard Weber, The Hilliard Ensemble
Purchase date: 2012
Price in €: 1,00





 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] Ov zamranali (Armenian traditional) - 4:11
[2] Svjete tihij (Byantine chant) - 4:14
[3] Allting finns (J.Garbarek) - 4:18
[4] Litany (Hilliard Ensemble) - 13:06
[5] Surp (Armenian traditional) - 6:40
[6] Most Holy Mother Of God (A.Part) - 4:34
[7] Tres morillas m'enamoran (Spanish anonymous) - 3:32
[8] Sirt im sasani (Komitas) - 4:06
[9] Hays hark (Armenian traditional) - 6:25
[10] Alleluia, Nativitas (Perotin) - 5:20
[11] We are the stars (J.Garbarek) - 4:18
[12] Nur ein Weniges noch (G.Seferis) - 0:19

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


Jan Garbarek - Soprano And Tenor Saxophones

     The Hilliard Ensemble:
David James  - Countertenor
Rogers Covey-Crump - Tenor
Steven Harrold - Tenor
Gordon Jones - Baritone

Manfred Eicher - Producer
Peter Laenger - Recording Supervision, Engineer, Tonmeister
Sascha Kleis - Design
Mario Giacomelli - Cover Photo, Photography
Paolo Soriani - Photography
Thomas Steinfeld - Liner Notes

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


2010 CD ECM Records - ECM 2125



The inspired bringing together of Jan Garbarek and the Hilliard Ensemble has resulted in consistently inventive music making since 1993. The unprecedented “Officium” album, with Garbarek’s saxophone as a free-ranging ‘fifth voice’ with the Ensemble, gave the first indications of the musical scope and emotional power of this combination. “Mnemosyne” (1998) took the story further, expanding the repertoire beyond ‘early music’ to embrace works both ancient and modern.

Now, after another decade of shared experiences, comes “Officium Novum”, the third album from Garbarek/Hilliard, recorded, like its distinguished predecessors, in the St Gerold monastery. A central focus this time is music of Armenia based on the adaptations of Komitas Vardapet, pieces which draw upon both medieval sacred music and the bardic tradition of the Caucasus. The Hilliards have studied these pieces in the course of their visits to Armenia, and the modes of the music encourage some of Garbarek’s most impassioned playing. Alongside the Armenian pieces in the “Officium Novum” repertoire: Arvo Pärt’s “Most Holy Mother of God” in an a cappella reading , Byzantine chant, two pieces by Jan Garbarek, including a new version of “We are the stars”, as well as the Spanish “Tres morillas”. There is also a new account of Perotin’s “Alleluia, Nativitas”: the freedom of interpretation is testimony to the way the project as a whole has grown since its introduction on ECM New Series, with the Hilliard Ensemble now very much involved in the music’s improvisational processes and implications.

ECM Records



More than 15 years separate the release of Jan Garbarek's best-selling album Officium from his Officium Novum. The newer release, like the original, features Garbarek on soprano and tenor saxophones and the male vocal quartet, the Hilliard Ensemble. In both albums, Garbarek takes preexisting vocal pieces and embroiders them with his soulful obbligato contributions. The chaste austerity of the men's voices and the reedy plaintiveness of the saxophone make for a surprisingly effective pairing. Garbarek and the singers manage to merge two very different musical worlds without compromising the integrity of either, and that is part of what gives these albums such an impact. The first album used primarily Medieval and Renaissance material -- chants, motets, and liturgical song -- while this second mostly uses more recent source material, primarily from Eastern Europe. In addition to several medieval sources, included are works by early 20th century Armenian priest, musicologist, and composer Komitas; Nikolai N. Kedrov, a Russian composer of the same era; mid-20th century Greek composer Giorgios Sefaris; Estonian Arvo Pärt; and several original pieces by Garbarek himself. Like the first album, this one is suffused with a sense of distant mystery and a profound, powerful melancholy that is given voice with intense feeling. The sound again is spacious and warmly resonant, with an earthy, enveloping ambience. This album will be a must-have for anyone who loved the first one, and it should appeal to any listener with an affinity for meditative Eastern European spirituality, especially when tied to contemporary expressivity and stylistic freedom.

Stephen Eddins - All Music Guide



Officium Novum is the third CD by acclaimed British choral group, the Hilliard Ensemble and Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek. On the accompanying podcast, Garbarek describes the album as “the slow movement of a camera coming from the east into the west.” Armenian hymns, Byzantine chant, and a piece by contemporary Estonian composer Arvo Pärt join 13th-century Pérotin and two compositions by Garbarek himself. For fans of the 20-year-old Hilliard/Garbarek combination, improvised saxophone lines on nearly every track add an element of freedom to the Hilliard Ensemble’s traditionally refined style. Critics, however, may see the continued collaboration as formulaic, guided by the first two albums’ high sales. Whatever one’s feelings about the appropriateness of this partnership, the album deserves attention for its focus on Armenian liturgical songs.

The western classical music world is no stranger to the music of Armenians. Major symphony orchestras and chamber ensembles have recorded works by composers Aram Khachaturian, Alexander Arutiunian, and Alan Hovhannes. Armenian artists such as soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian, bass Ara Berberian, and violinist Ivan Galamian have presented celebrated interpretations of Bach, Mozart, Rossini, Mahler, and many others. Yet recordings of Armenian liturgical songs, especially by non-Armenians, remain comparatively rare. The Hilliard Ensemble’s attention to Armenian sharakans in recent performances and on Officium Novum suggests that these hymns may indeed have a place in choral music repertoire around the world.

The Armenian Apostolic Church prizes the sharakans as works wholly Armenian—resistant to surrounding Arab, Persian, Turkic, Georgian, and Slavic music cultures. Many date back to the ninth century or earlier, and the sharakans as they are now notated and categorized represent the continued work of composers and scholars throughout the development of the Armenian Church (McCollum 2004:224-6). In the 19th and 20th centuries, Armenian priest, composer, and ethnomusicologist Komitas Vardapet arranged the Divine Liturgy and many sharakans for four voices. His aim was twofold: to carry Armenian liturgical music into its next stage of spiritual significance through the addition of harmony and to cleanse the music of inappropriate fashionable embellishments through careful research of church modes and the old notation systems (Komitas 1897:159).

A British/Norwegian interpretation (with saxophone, no less!) is thus bound to offend purists. Yet the Hilliard Ensemble singers clearly have done their research, traveling to Armenia to learn the songs upon invitation from a Yerevan radio station. While the accompanying booklet’s stunning photographs of a medieval monastery and Mount Ararat may inspire a rather romanticized take on the music’s history, Thomas Steinfeld’s notes correctly identify the pieces as Komitas’s early 20th-century arrangements, which were composed in a very urban Constantinople.

As with their recordings of western music from the Medieval and Renaissance periods, countertenor David James, tenors Rogers Covey-Crump and Steven Harrold, and baritone Gordon Jones sing with limited vibrato, opting for that British choral aesthetic often described as clean and pure. They respond to each other well, allowing moving lines to emerge clearly from a well-blended ensemble sound. While it may not be what Komitas intended, this style of singing allows the intricacies of his arrangements to shine.

Jan Garbarek’s introduction to “Ov Zarmanali,” (the hymn for the Baptism of Christ) is a pleasing meditation on Armenian motifs, but to my ears his contribution is otherwise distracting rather than collaborative. First, when joining the singers, the saxophone seems simply too loud; even in low registers it tends to drown out the vocal parts. Second, Garbarek’s fast arpeggios in “Surb, Surb” (Sanctus) obscure the feeling of direction in the choir’s long melismatic lines.

Komitas’s special attention to Armenian liturgical modes might have excited the Hilliard Ensemble’s more academic tendencies. Rogers Covey-Crump has been known to write very clear and thorough articles on tuning Ockeghem, Brumel, and Dufay. I would welcome his insights on tuning Komitas. In the current recording, it is difficult to hear which, if any, explicit tuning decisions have been made, as the saxophone’s intonation sometimes does not match that of the vocal ensemble.

Criticisms aside, Officium Novum is a fine introduction to Armenia’s rich sacred music tradition, especially for choral conductors looking to expand their repertoires. Yet while the album may include glimpses of Armenia and Constantinople, the camera, to use Jan Garbarek’s metaphor, remains firmly placed in Western Europe. Those who would like to hear more are advised to seek out recordings by Lusine Zakarian, the Male Chamber Choir of the Yerevan Opera Theatre, and Onnik Dinkjian. Additionally, a widespread Armenian diaspora nearly ensures that this music can be heard live every Sunday in Armenian churches around the world.

Alyssa Mathias - March 12, 2013
© 2014 by Ethnomusicology Review



With the unexpected massive success of Officium (ECM, 1994), Jan Garbarek's first collaboration with The Hilliard Ensemble, it would be all too easy for the Norwegian saxophonist and British vocal ensemble to rest on their not inconsiderable laurels, and simply repeat the formula. But while Officium featured a repertoire of structured early music—from Gregorian chant to early polyphony, over which Garbarek soared improvisationally—the double-disc follow-up, Menemosyne (ECM, 1999), expanded the quintet's purview by introducing music of a more contemporary nature, including fragments of minimal notation that encouraged The Hilliard Ensemble to extemporize alongside the saxophonist. A decade later, Officium Novum continues to broaden this remarkable pairing's already expansive perspective, by bringing in music of a distinctly eastern flavor, with considerable focus on music composed or adapted by Armenian composer Komitas Vardapet (1869-1935).

As with Mnemosyne, the lines between form and freedom are completely and utterly blurred by Garbarek and the Hilliards. Even when turning to one of two Garbarek compositions—the first time this group has adapted an extant piece from the saxophonist's repertoire, in this case the calm-inducing "We are the Stars," first heard on the saxophonist's Rites (ECM, 1998), where Garbarek performed the piece with a larger boys choir—it's hard to know where notation ends and improvisation begins. More likely, it's a case of the two existing conterminously, with melodies preconceived and lines pulled from the ether occupying the same multidimensional space.

As ever, Garbarek's attention to the purity and precision of each and every note is matched by countertenor David James, tenors Roger Covey-Crump and Steven Harrold, and baritone Gordon Jones. By using both tenor and soprano saxophones throughout the program, Garbarek augments the vocal group at both ends of the spectrum, moving underneath and soaring above, often within the same phrase. That reeds and voices merge together so effortlessly—engendering a curiously paradoxical combination of peace and passion—is this ensemble's particular strength; even brief moments of dissonance, as in the Hillards' approach to Garbarek's other original composition, "Allting finns," only serve to create a momentary sense of tension that softly resolves back to translucent beauty.

Once again recorded at the acoustically profound Propstei St. Gerold in Austria—a favorite locations when the label looks to include the sound of the room as a near-equal partner to the musicians performing in it—timbral purity is matched by sonic transparency; even as the five voices merge together into a seamless whole, so, too, can each and every part be discerned with pristine clarity.

Officium Novum's repertoire is the quintet's most intriguing yet, finding a nexus point where Garbarek and Vardapet can coexist with Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, whose "Most Holy Mother of God" represents the album's spiritual high point, and 13th century composer Pérotin, whose "Alleluia, Nativitas" represents Garbarek and The Hilliard Ensemble at its most buoyant. If music is meant to be a transporting experience, then Officium Novum is Jan Garbarek and The Hilliard Ensemble at its transcendent best.

JOHN KELMAN - September 29, 2010
© 2014 All About Jazz



1994 erschien mit "Officium" eine so mutige wie visionäre Produktion unter der Ägide von ECM-Chef Manfred Eicher. Auf "Officium" trafen sich mehrstimmige Vokalmusiken der frühen Renaissance und die Improvisation des Jazz in einer mitreißenden Klangvision, die durch die Mitwirkung von Starsaxophonist Jan Garbarek und dem Hilliard Ensemble zu einem unvergesslichen Bestseller wurde. Pünktlich zum Saisongeschäft und Herbstbeginn erscheint mit "Officium Novum" der würdige Nachfolger dieses legendären Albums.

Von der sich in Hochform befindlichen Original-Besetzung eingespielt, erweiterte Produzent Manfred Eicher das Repertoire um einige schillernde, kirchliche Arrangements Komitas. Saxophonist Jan Garbarek steuerte u. a. eine Neuinterpretation seines "Rites"-Klassikers "We Are The Stars" bei.

JPC.de



Seit Jan Garbarek und das Hilliard Ensemble 1993 musikalisch zusammengefunden haben, hat ihr gemeinsames Musizieren immer wieder zu überraschenden, höchst innovativen Wendungen geführt. Das bahnbrechende Album „Officium“, mit Garbareks Saxophon als frei gestaltender „fünfter Stimme“ des Ensembles, vermittelte gleich einen starken Eindruck von der musikalischen Vielseitigkeit und emotionalen Kraft dieser Verbindung. Mit ihrem 1998 erschienenen Doppelalbum „Mnemosyne“ schrieben sie die Geschichte fort und erweiterten das Renaissance-Repertoire durch Werke alter wie auch neuer Musik.

Nun, nach einem weiteren Jahrzehnt gemeinsamer Erfahrungen, gibt es ein drittes Album von Garbarek/Hilliard, das wie seine herausragenden Vorgänger im österreichischen Kloster St. Gerold von Manfred Eicher als Produzenten aufgenommen wurde. Treffend betitelt, steht „Officium Novum“ für musikalische Kontinuität, aber auch für den Aufbruch in neue Gefilde. Dem Geist von „Occident/Orient“ folgend, richtet das Album den Blick ostwärts, nimmt Armenien ins Visier und fokussiert sich auf die Kompositionen und Bearbeitungen von Komitas. Die Hilliards haben Komitas’ Werke, die in mittelalterlicher Kirchenmusik und der bardischen Tradition des Kaukasus wurzeln, bei ihren Besuchen in Armenien studiert, und Garbarek inspirieren die Stimmungen der Musik zu besonders intensivem Spiel. Auf der Reise durch Zeitalter und Länder haben die Musiker eine erstaunliche Vielfalt von Kompositionen zusammengetragen: „Officium Novum“ macht Station in Eriwan und Byzanz, in Russland, Frankreich und Spanien – und alles fügt sich ein in den dramaturgischen Fluss des Albums, weil die einzelnen Werke in einen größeren kompositorischen Rahmen eingebunden sind.

„Hays hark nviranats ukhti“ und „Surb, surb“ gehören zur Göttlichen Liturgie der Heiligen Messe, die Komitas Vardapet (1869-1935) zu verschiedenen Gelegenheiten und für unterschiedliche Ensembles arrangierte. Die hier zu hörenden Versionen basieren auf den 1914/15 in Konstantinopel entstandenen Fassungen für Männerstimmen. „Hays hark nviranats ukhti“ ist ein traditionell zu Beginn der Messe, während das Weihrauchfass geschwenkt wird, gesungener Hymnus. „Surb, surb“ (Heilig, heilig) entspricht dem „Sanctus“ der Lateinischen Messe.

„Ov zarmanali“ ist ein Choral zur Taufe Christi (Sonntag nach Epiphanias), der nach der Segnung des Wassers gesungen wird, und „Sirt im sasani“ ein Hymnus des „Votnlva“ (der rituellen Fußwaschung am Gründonnerstag). Diese Werke von Komitas stammen aus der Zeit zwischen 1910 und 1915, doch ihre Ursprünge reichen bis in die Antike zurück. Als Musikethnologe und progressiver Komponist/Philosoph zeigte Komitas nicht nur, dass sich die armenische Kirchenmusik aus der Volksmusik entwickelt hatte, sondern verwendete ganz bewusst volksmusikalische Stile, um daraus eine neue Kunstmusik für seine Epoche zu schaffen.

Auch andere Werke im „Officium Novum“-Programm überbrücken Jahrhunderte; in der konzentrierten Annäherung des Garbarek/Hilliard-Ensembles fließen mittelalterliche und zeitgenössische Musik zu einem charakteristischen Gruppenklang zusammen. Jan Garbarek steuert zwei Kompositionen bei. „Allting finns“ ist eine Vertonung des Gedichts „Den Döde“ (Der Tote) des Schweden Pär Lagerkvist (1891-1974), während „We are the stars“, zuletzt gehört auf Garbareks Album „Rites“, auf einem Gedicht der nordamerikanischen Pasamaquoddy-Indianer basiert.

Längstes Stück ist das dreizehnminütige „Litany“, das spirituelle und musikalische Einflüsse schöpferisch zusammenführt: Dem aus der altorthodoxen Tradition stammenden „Otche Nash“ ist ein Fragment der „Litanei" von Nikolai N. Kedrow vorangestellt. Kedrow (1871-1940) war ein Schüler Rimsky-Korsakows, Mitbegründer des Kedrow-Quartetts, eines unter Leitung von Sergei Diaghilew konzertierenden Vokalensembles, und Urheber zahlreicher Kompositionen und Liedarrangements, die ihren Weg in das Repertoire orthodoxer Chöre gefunden haben.

Arvo Pärts „Most Holy Mother of God“, 2003 für das Hilliard Ensemble geschrieben, ist hier in makelloser A-capella-Klarheit zu hören. Die Hilliards haben überzeugend für Pärts Musik geworben und sind im Gegenzug von der Schlichtheit seiner Kompositionskunst sicher nicht unberührt geblieben.

Das byzantinische „Svete tihij“ (Freudenreiches Licht), komponiert im dritten Jahrhundert, gehört zu den ältesten Chorälen des Christentums und begleitete einst den Einzug der Priester in die Kirche sowie das Entzünden der Abendlampe bei Sonnenuntergang. Das spanische „Tres morillas“ aus dem „Cancionero de Palacio“ des 16. Jahrhunderts verbreitet eine andere Art von Licht und untermalt mit seinem tänzerischen Rhythmus die Geschichte einer verlorenen Liebe.

Perotins „Alleluia. Nativitas“ ist die Neufassung eines Stückes, das bereits auf „Mnemosyne“ enthalten war – die Freiheit der Interpretation belegt, wie sehr das Projekt als Ganzes seit seinen Anfängen in der ECM New Series gewachsen ist.

Was das Saxophon betrifft, bietet sich ihm aus improvisatorischer Sicht auch hier ein außergewöhnlich klarer, unverstellter Kontext, der reichlich Gelegenheit gibt, Jan Garbareks Kreativität zu erleben. Garbarek nähert sich der Musik immer noch frei, er improvisiert mit den Solisten, setzt irrlichternde Kontrapunkte, webt mit am Vokalgeflecht, spinnt Fäden weiter und wirkt so mit an einem erneuten Beweis dafür, was der englische Evening Standard einmal „mit die schönste akustische Musik, die je gemacht wurde“ genannt hat.

Das Album endet mit George Seferis’ Gedicht „Nur ein weniges noch“ aus dem 1935 entstandenen Zyklus „Mythistorema“, gelesen von Bruno Ganz, das bereits auf dem ECM-Album „Wenn Wasser wäre“ mit Gedichten von T.S. Eliot und Seferis zu hören war.

© KlassikAkzente
 

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