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NACC Presents: Trio Mediaeval
November 25, 2023 @ 7:30 pm
GRAMMY-NOMINATED GUESTS FROM NORWAY
ANNA MARIA FRIMAN / LINN ANDREA FUGLSETH / JORUNN LOVISE HUSAN
The crystalline voices of Trio Mediaeval have captivated audiences since the group was founded in Oslo in 1997. The Grammy-nominated trio’s core repertoire features sacred monophonic and polyphonic medieval music from England, Italy and France; contemporary works written for the ensemble; and traditional Norwegian, Swedish and Icelandic ballads and songs. The group’s fruitful relationship with the legendary ECM Records, collaborative spirit, and busy touring schedule has earned them worldwide renown.
Trio Mediaeval’s first of eight albums on ECM Records, Words of the Angel, landed on Billboard’s Top 10 and was a Stereophile “Recording of the Month.” Further releases on ECM followed in 2004 with Soir, dit-elle and in 2005 with Stella Maris. The first three recordings, produced by John Potter, consisted of medieval and contemporary works. In 2007, the trio teamed with the Norwegian percussionist Birger Mistereggen on a recording of Norwegian ballads and songs entitled Folk Songs, produced by Manfred Eicher. Folk Songs was nominated for the Norwegian Spellemannprisen and for a Grammy Award for “Best Chamber Music Performance.” A Worcester Ladymass (2011) was also on Billboard’s Top 10 list, and was selected by the German Record Critic’s Award as one of the best new releases in the “Early Music” category. The trio’s Aquilonis was named a “Top Music Recording of 2014” by the New York Times. In 2017, Trio Mediaeval and jazz trumpeter Arve Henriksen released Rímur — medieval and folk music from Iceland, Sweden and Norway. In 2020 Trio Mediaeval produced the album Solacium on the Norwegian label 2L, with Grammy-winning Morten Lindberg as producer/engineer. In 2023, 2L releases Trio Mediaeval’s latest recording, An Old Hall Ladymass.
Since 2006, the trio has embarked on a number of collaborative projects with Norwegian jazz/improvisational musicians. These collaborations have led to concerts and radio broadcasts at the Bergen Festival (where the trio was Artist-in-Residence in 2007), Molde Jazz Festival, Wigmore Hall, West Cork Music Festival, as well as performances in Norway, Holland, Italy and Germany.
“Singing doesn’t get more unnervingly beautiful,” wrote Joshua Kosman of the San Francisco Chronicle, who declared their San Francisco debut “among the musical highlights of the year.” He added, “To hear the group’s note-perfect
counterpoint – as pristine and inviting as clean, white linens – is to be astonished at what the human voice is capable of.
“The three women of the Norwegian Trio Mediaeval can look back
William Dart, New Zealand Herald
proudly over 20 years of uncovering the often mysterious and
mystical music written centuries before the cantatas of Bach or the
masses of Palestrina.” “Rating: 5/5”
