triomedievalconcert

Trio Medieval, a Norwegian a cappella group comprised of women's voices, returned to New York on 12.10.05 for a performance at Weill Recital Hall. The trio - Anna Maria Friman, Linn Andrea Fuglseth, and Torunn Østrem Ossum - has recently released their second CD, Stella Maris, for ECM Records. The disc features medieval music from England and France and a new composition: A mass setting by composer Sungji Hong. Their program at Weill focused on works dedicated to the Virgin Mary, with compositions from the Fourteenth through the Sixteenth centuries sitting alongside Norwegian folk music and several contemporary pieces written especially for the trio.

The concert began with a set of traditional European carols, sung in Norwegian translations. "Det Hev ei rose sprunge," a Michael Praetorius composition arranged for three voices by Fuglseth and better known to English speakers as "Lo how a Rose ere Blooming," was a familiar and attractive opener. The trio has noticeably matured in terms of musicality, presentation, and sense of ensemble. With a collective sound that seems even richer now, the three blend superlatively well. High soprano Friman negotiates the stratosphere with enviable control and fluidity; soprano Fuglseth displays a nimble instrument with an attractive tone. Ossum, who often sings the lowest parts in the texture, has gained significant resonance in the mezzo/alto register. However, her range is impressive, and her voice remains pleasing when called upon to sing higher melodies and solo parts.

Appropriate to the season, the concert included two groups of English carols - most from the Fifteenth century - one on each half of the program. Weill Hall does not have the reverberant acoustic of the church spaces in which the trio often performs, but the group certainly sounded well in its intimate environment. The trio explored the space by singing from different positions in the hall, splitting into groups at opposing ends of the stage for a couple of pieces. Most affecting was their performance of "Lullay, as I Lay" for which they moved out into the audience and stood in three separate corners of the hall. Each singer took a solo turn, while the other two accompanied her with a hummed drone.

Another group of English music displayed the trio's principal repertoire: Fourteenth century polyphonic church music. "Sancta Mater/Dou Way Robin" featured a haunting, minor-tinged melodic refrain, over which Friman's voice soared in warm arcing counterpoint. "Quem Trina Polluit" reveled in weaving and dovetailing lines, which accumulated into a vibrant, shimmering texture. "Flos Regalis" juxtaposed strongly articulated homophonic passages against long passages of melismatic vocalises.

While the group excels in early music, they have developed a concurrent interest in contemporary repertoire, which was represented on the program by the work of three composers. "Ave Regina Gloriosa," by Gavin Bryars, hewed closely to the spirit of the medieval laude on which it is based; his use of modal harmonies and tendency to write long, flexible lines makes his work an excellent complement to the earlier pieces on the program. Twenty-two year old composer Isobel Davies added some contemporary flair with her "Hymn to Seinte Mari," writing harmonies that were a bit more adventurous than Bryars's and even requiring a pronounced glissando - which seemed somewhat out of place in its isolation - midway through the piece. The trio also sang three pieces by English/Norwegian composer Andrew Smith: "Ave Maria," "Regina Caeli," and "Ave Maris Stella." These combined attractive melodies, strongly gestural rhythms, and deliciously pungent harmonies.

The concert's last set of pieces was a group of traditional Norwegian folk music, arranged by Smith, Fuglseth, and folk singer Tone Krohn. Despite the disparate sources of the arrangements, the pieces blended together seamlessly. The singers had no difficulty "switching gears" from classical to vernacular music, and performed these last pieces with a communicative warmth and enthusiasm that made one wish that there were more folk music on the program. After an enthusiastic ovation, the trio was only too happy to oblige, closing the evening with the gentle folk song "This Earth."