Trio Mediaeval - Aquilonis

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 with their sixth ECM New Series release, Aquilonis. 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 realizing Icelandic chant from the Middle Ages, Trio Mediaeval accompany their vocals with discreetly textural instrumentation. The group also arranged 12th-century Italian sacred pieces and sings 15th-century English carols, with timeless folk melodies in the air, too. From our contemporary age come works by the Swede Anders Jormin, American William Brooks and Englishman Andrew Smith. In his liner notes to Aquilonis, John Potter – former Hilliard Ensemble tenor and longtime Trio Mediaeval mentor – aptly describes the group’s ability to “create a synthesis of sound and atmosphere… history and geography blending seamlessly.”