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Arianna Savall: Hirundo Maris - Chants du Sud et du Nord

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: ECM Records
Released: 2012.06.15
Time:
 79:56
Category: Classical, Jazz
Producer(s): Manfred Eicher
Rating:
Media type: CD
Web address: www.ariannasavall.com
Appears with:
Purchase date: 2012
Price in €: 1,00





 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] El Mestre (Catalan Traditional) - 6:33
[2] Buenas noches (Sephardic Traditional) - 5:49
[3] Ya salió de la mar (Sephardic Traditional) - 2:36
[4] Om kvelden (Norwegian Traditional) - 4:38
[5] El Mariner (Catalan Traditional) - 6:14
[6] Le Chant des étoiles (Arianna Savall) - 3:44
[7] Morena me llaman (Sephardic Traditional) - 6:10
[8] Bendik og Årolilja (Norwegian Traditional) - 7:01
[9] Ormen lange (Norwegian Traditional) - 2:50
[10] Tarantela (Lucas Ruiz de Ribayaz) - 4:46
[11] The Water Is Wide (British Isles Traditional) - 5:24
[12] El Noi de la mare (Christmas Traditional) - 3:32
[13] Josep i Maria (Christmas Traditional) - 3:28
[14] Penselstrøk (Petter Udland Johansen) - 5:19
[15] Halling (Norwegian Traditional) - 2:53
[16] Yo m'enamori d'un aire (Sephardic Traditional) - 5:35
[17] Trollmors vuggesang (Margit Holmberg) - 3:13

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


Arianna Savall - Voice, Gothic Harp, Italian Triple Harp
Petter Udland Johansen - Voice, Hardingfele, Mandolin

Sveinung Lilleheier - Guitar, Dobro, Voice
Miquel Àngel Cordero - Double-Bass, Voice
David Mayoral - Percussion, Voice

Manfred Eicher - Producer
Markus Heiland - Balance Engineer
Sascha Kleis - Design
Nadia F. Romanini - Cover Photo
Karoline Amaury - Photography
Adam Benek - Photography
Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson - Quotation Author
Jacinto Verdaguer - Quotation Author
Erik Fosse - Text Translation
Juan Gabriel López Guix - Text Translation
Jacqueline Minett - Text Translation
Rolf E. Moe - Lyricist, Text Translation
Arnulf Øverland - Text
Per Sivle - Text

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


2012 CD ECM New Series 2227
2012 CD ECM 6025 278 4395

Recorded in January 2011 in the Austrian monastery of St Gerold.



Hirundo Maris is Latin for “sea swallow” and, like that bird’s flight, harpist Arianna Savall’s quintet – part early music ensemble, part folk group – drifts on musical currents between Norway and Catalonia, and adds its own songs, created on the wing. Savall and co-leader Petter Udland Johansen have shaped a band with a bright, glistening timbral blend, capped by Arianna’s ice-clear voice, well-equipped to address songs of the north and the south.

rianna Savall’s leader debut for the New Series follows her distinguished contributions to Rolf Lislevand’s “Nuove Musiche” and to Helena Tulve’s “Lijnen”, – sensuous early music on the one hand, bracingly contemporary composition on the other. In both genres she has proven to be a charismatic singer. Now comes “Hirundo Maris” which, with its very fresh instrumental textures, follows another trajectory.

Savall and band co-leader Petter Udland Johansen describe their project as a journey linking the Mediterranean and the North Sea. Hirundo Maris is Latin for “sea swallow” and, like that bird’s flight, the quintet – part early music ensemble, part folk group – drifts on musical currents between Norway and Catalonia, adds its own songs, created on the wing, and swoops down to dive beneath the surface of things. Near the centre of the sound are Arianna’s sparkling harps and the drones of Johansen’s Hardanger fiddle; when the colours of the mandolin and more unexpectedly the Dobro (not often heard outside bluegrass contexts) are added, a message is sent about the universality of song as well as of the transatlantic travels of old ballads…

Savall and Johansen have shaped a band with a bright, glistening timbral blend, capped by Arianna’s ice-clear voice, eminently well-equipped to address songs of the north and the south. It is a voice already familiar to many who have followed the outstanding work of her parents, Catalan viol master Jordi Savall and singer Montserrat Figueras: until 2008 Arianna played and sang as a member of her father’s ensembles, including Hespèrion XXI. Since then, she has been devoting much of her time to the Hirundo Maris project.

Of their “Chants du Sud et du Nord” Arianna and Petter Udland Johansen write: “From remote times, north and south have been linked by waterways navigated by the Vikings of Norway. Catalans and the Sephardic Jews have also shared this love of the sea, which through a common melancholy at some deep level connects peoples seemingly poles apart.

We discover subtle bridges of song, where a Catalan song and a Norwegian tune are linked by common rhythms and modes, or a Norwegian ballad and a Sephardic song share the same key... The origin of this project is the emblematic Catalan song ‘El Mariner’, which is very popular in the coastal regions of Catalonia and recounts the story of the love between a Mediterranean maiden and a knight from northern lands. This typical European sea shanty in the form of a dialogue is also sung to a very similar tune on the coast of Scotland. Could these intangible bridges have been forged by the numerous voyages of Vikings, Catalans, Scots and Sephardic Jews?” “Hirundo Maris” sets off in search of the answer.

“Hirundo Maris: Chants du Sud et du Nord” was recorded in January 2011 in the Austrian monastery of St Gerold, with Manfred Eicher producing. Arianna has dedicated the recording to the memory of her mother, Montserrat Figueras.

ECM Records



Arianna Savall’s leader debut for the New Series follows her distinguished contributions to Rolf Lislevand’s “Nuove musiche” and to Helena Tulve’s “Lijnen”, – sensuous early music on the one hand, bracingly contemporary composition on the other. In both genres she has proven to be a charismatic singer. Now comes “Hirundo Maris” which, with its very fresh instrumental textures, follows another trajectory.

Savall and band co-leader Petter Udland Johansen describe their project as a journey linking the Mediterranean and the North Sea. Hirundo Maris is Latin for “sea swallow” and, like that bird’s flight, the quintet – part early music ensemble, part folk group – drifts on musical currents between Norway and Catalonia, adds its own songs, created on the wing, and swoops down to dive beneath the surface of things. Near the centre of the sound are Arianna’s sparkling harps and the drones of Johansen’s Hardanger fiddle; when the colours of the mandolin and more unexpectedly the Dobro (not often heard outside bluegrass contexts) are added, a message is sent about the universality of song as well as of the transatlantic travels of old ballads…

Savall and Johansen have shaped a band with a bright, glistening timbral blend, capped by Arianna’s ice-clear voice, eminently well-equipped to address songs of the north and the south. It is a voice already familiar to many who have followed the outstanding work of her parents, Catalan viol master Jordi Savall and singer Montserrat Figueras: until 2008 Arianna played and sang as a member of her father’s ensembles, including Hespèrion XXI. Since then, she has been devoting much of her time to the Hirundo Maris project.

Of their “Chants du Sud et du Nord” Arianna and Petter Udland Johansen write, “From remote times, north and south have been linked by waterways navigated by the Vikings of Norway. Catalans and the Sephardic Jews have also shared this love of the sea, which through a common melancholy at some deep level connects peoples seemingly poles apart. We discover subtle bridges of song, where a Catalan song and a Norwegian tune are linked by common rhythms and modes, or a Norwegian ballad and a Sephardic song share the same key... The origin of this project is the emblematic Catalan song ‘El Mariner’, which is very popular in the coastal regions of Catalonia and recounts the story of the love between a Mediterranean maiden and a knight from northern lands. This typical European sea shanty in the form of a dialogue is also sung to a very similar tune on the coast of Scotland. Could these intangible bridges have been forged by the numerous voyages of Vikings, Catalans, Scots and Sephardic Jews?” “Hirundo Maris” sets off in search of the answer. 

“Hirundo Maris: Chants du Sud et du Nord” was recorded in January 2011 in the Austrian monastery of St Gerold, with Manfred Eicher producing. Arianna has dedicated the recording to the memory of her mother, Montserrat Figuerras.

Petter Udland Johansen



Hirundo Maris is dedicated to the memory of Montserrat Figueras, the legendary advocate, researcher, and performer of Renaissance and Baroque music, particularly that of the Mediterranean basin, who died in 2011, after the album was recorded but before it was released. It features her daughter, singer and harpist Arianna Savall, in arrangements of folk repertoire from the Catalan, Sephardic, Norwegian, and Scottish traditions. The title, Latin for Sea Swallow, refers to the centrality of the sea in all these traditions, and its subtitle, "Songs of South and North," to the connections between the traditions that sea facilitated, connections that are evident in the similarities between the songs. Savall and singer Petter Udland Johansen, who also plays a Hardanger fiddle and mandolin, made most of the arrangements, and are joined by Sveinung Lilleheier, guitar, dobro, and voice; Miquel Àngel Cordero, double bass and voice; and David Mayoral, percussion and voice.

Savall has a pleasing, sweet, pure voice, not as expansive or as penetrating as that of her mother (to whom she bears a striking physical resemblance), but especially well suited to this folk-style repertoire. She and the other singers perform these evocative, melancholy songs with clear, focused tone and terrific intonation, and with the unmannered directness of folk singers. The tone of most of the songs is understated but poignantly yearning, and that mood is beautifully expressed in the delicacy and sensitivity of the performances. The accompaniments are lovely and simple but sophisticated; they reflect Savall's lifetime exposure to her parents' disciplined and lively approaches to early music interpretation and its relation to folk traditions. The sound of the ECM New Series album, produced by Manfred Eicher, is characteristically immaculate and natural. The recording should appeal not only to fans of international folk music but of historically informed performances of early vocal music for which Savall's family is famous.

Stephen Eddins - All Music Guide



Hirundo Maris ist die lateinische Bezeichnung für die Seeschwalbe, und ähnlich dem nomadisierenden Leben dieser Vögel treibt das Quintett der Harfenistin Arianna Savall - teils Alte-Musik-Ensemble, teils Folkgruppe - auf musikalischen Strömungen zwischen Norwegen und Katalonien umher, bereichert sie dazu noch um eigene Lieder. Savall, aus einer prominenten katalanischen Musikerfamilie stammend (ihre Mutter ist die im vergangenen Herbst gestorbene Sopranistin Montserrat Figueras, ihr Vater der Komponist und Gambenvirtuose Jordi Savall) und ihr Co-Leader Petter Udland Johansen haben für diese Lieder des Nordens und des Südens eine Formation mit einem hell glänzenden Gruppenklang zusammengestellt, der von Adriannas kristallklarer und dabei doch stets sinnlich-geschmeidiger Stimme geprägt wird. Die zeitlose melodische Schönheit katalanischer, sephardischer oder norwegischer Traditionals trifft hier auf sorgfältige Arrangements, die historische Informiertheit mit einer zeitgenössisch globalen Perspektive verbinden.

Amazon.de



When artists perform ancient songs, ballads or dances, they often bring them to life in a fresh, personal way. It was a shared love of ancient music that led Arianna Savall and Petter Udland Johansen to form a new group three years ago. Now they've brought out their first release titled Hirundo Maris. In Latin, the title means sea swallow. Each piece on this new disc in some way has a relationship to the sea. It's the sea that connects the two homelands of Arianna and Petter: Spain and Norway.

Petter Udland says a variety of musical styles make up the sound of this ensemble. "We come from early music and classical music and popular music so we bring all those elements with us." They also bring with them a variety of traditional instruments. For Petter it's the Hardanger fiddle, a traditional Norwegian instrument that he says is not your average fiddle. "The bridge is a bit flatter than a normal bridge. And that means that you can play on more strings at the same time. So it's easier to do chords and to do double stops and all that kind of stuff. We play with gut strings so it has a very tender, very fragile sound so it fits very well to the voice. It's like a third voice, actually, when we play together."

According to Arianna Savall the song that got this whole project started is a folk song titled El Mariner (The Sailor). It features triple harp, Hardanger fiddle, dobro, bass and a frame drum that creates the sound of the sea. "It's a Catalan folk song but it tells the story of the sailor from the north that is coming to the Mediterranean. He meets a girl and they will travel many, many years and in the end, he says, I'm the son of the King of England, and you will be my Queen. And it's a very nice song and it's a lullaby song also that my grandmother and many grandmothers were singing at this time."

Hirundo Maris opens with a medieval Renaissance song titled The Schoolmaster. Arianna first heard it played by her father, Jordi Savall, a famous performer on the viola da gamba. "I had always the wish to sing this piece, but I tried to find a version very different from my father," she explains. The song is a dialog between a teacher and a young woman. When he heads off to war, she begins to share her thoughts with the birds. "This theme, to talk with the birds, it's a theme that we have in many songs of Catalonia. And in a way the birds are connected with the angels or the universe, with this spirituality or with God. It's very symbolic, this dialog with the birds." Petter says people really respond to his and Arianna's vocal harmonies, especially on this song. "It's very nice to sing solo and do your solo stuff," he explains, "but when you are able to sing with someone and do duets and feel the harmony that happens between two or three or four voices, in this case two voices, for me, it's the highest peak of music making, It's fantastic! It's a great privilege I must say."

There are a few instrumental pieces on this new collection of ancient songs and dances. My favorite is a tarantella arranged by Arianna Savall. In earlier centuries it was believed a frenzied dance would prevent death if you were bit by a poisonous tarantula spider. That dance came to be known as a tarantella. The manuscript upon which this tarantella is based is a version by Lucas Ruiz de Ribayaz. "The interesting thing about this manuscript," Savall explains, "is you only have eight bars. It means that at this time, the people were improvising a lot and it was very important, this improvising."

As you listen to each of the 17 tracks on Hirundo Maris, you might hear echoes of Arianna Savall's mother, the late Montserrat Figueras. Arianna says her mother did add her personal touch to each piece on this recording before her death last year. "I admire very much this way that she sang," Arianna adds tenderly. "This is always with me, and many pieces that I learned with her, when I sing these pieces now, I have the feeling that and she's there, in a way, with me and we are singing still together."

Julie Amacher · Sep 25, 2012
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