El cant de la Sibil.la & Draumkvedet Arianna Savall, Petter Udland Johansen & Hirundo Maris

• Traditional: El cant de la Sibil.la de Barcelona:
• 1 El cant de la Sibil.la de Barcelona: Refrain Al jorn del judici parrà ... 01:14
• 2 El cant de la Sibil.la de Barcelona: Vers 1-3 02:32
• 3 El cant de la Sibil.la de Barcelona: Anonyme - Trotto (Instrumental, 14... 02:01
• 4 El cant de la Sibil.la de Barcelona: Vers 4-5 01:38
• 5 El cant de la Sibil.la de Barcelona: Choir I 00:35
• 6 El cant de la Sibil.la de Barcelona: Vers 6 00:49
• 7 El cant de la Sibil.la de Barcelona: Choir II 00:33
• 8 El cant de la Sibil.la de Barcelona: Vers 7 01:11
• 9 El cant de la Sibil.la de Barcelona: Vers 8 00:36
• 10 El cant de la Sibil.la de Barcelona: Quandi i oselli 01:27
• 11 El cant de la Sibil.la de Barcelona: Vers 9-10 01:15
• 12 El cant de la Sibil.la de Barcelona: Anonyme - Ad mortem festinamus 01:46
• 13 El cant de la Sibil.la de Barcelona: Vers 11 01:09
• 14 El cant de la Sibil.la de Barcelona: Vers 12 00:38
• 15 El cant de la Sibil.la de Barcelona: Choir III 00:48
• Petter Udland Johansen (b. 1971): Draumkvedet Instrumental I:
• 16 Draumkvedet: Instrumental I 01:52
• Traditional: Draumkvedet:
• 17 Draumkvedet: Vers 1-5 02:52
• 18 Draumkvedet: Ecce stella in Oriente... 01:18
• 19 Draumkvedet: Vers 6 00:33
• 20 Draumkvedet: Choir I 00:22
• 21 Draumkvedet: Vers 7-15 05:02
• 22 Draumkvedet: Choir II 00:41
• 23 Draumkvedet: Vers 16-23 04:30
• 24 Draumkvedet: Choir III 00:42
• 25 Draumkvedet: Vers 24-28 02:47
• Petter Udland Johansen: Draumkvedet Instrumental II:
• 26 Draumkvedet: Instrumental II 01:52
• Traditional: Draumkvedet:
• 27 Draumkvedet: Vers 29-37 04:24
• 28 Draumkvedet: Choir IV 00:22
• 29 Draumkvedet: Vers 38-45 04:38
• 30 Draumkvedet: Choir V 00:24
• 31 Draumkvedet: Vers 46-51 03:23
• 32 Draumkvedet: Choir VI 00:30
• Petter Udland Johansen: Draumkvedet Instrumental III:
• 33 Draumkvedet: Instrumental III 01:25
• 34 Draumkvedet: Vers 52 00:49
• 35 Draumkvedet: Chor Staat upp 00:35
• Traditional: El cant de la Sibil.la de Girona:
• 36 El cant de la Sibil.la de Girona: Planctus Sibyllarum 02:05
• 37 El cant de la Sibil.la de Girona: Al jorn del judici parrà ... 00:28
• 38 El cant de la Sibil.la de Girona: Choir I 00:43
• 39 El cant de la Sibil.la de Girona: Vers 1-2 03:17
• 40 El cant de la Sibil.la de Girona: Vers 3-4 03:20
• 41 El cant de la Sibil.la de Girona: Vers 5-6 02:42
• 42 El cant de la Sibil.la de Girona: Choir II 00:38
• 43 El cant de la Sibil.la de Girona: Vers 7-8 02:43
• 44 El cant de la Sibil.la de Girona: Choir III 00:47
• 45 El cant de la Sibil.la de Girona: Vers 9 01:23
• 46 El cant de la Sibil.la de Girona: Imperayritz de la ciutat joyosa 01:40
• 47 El cant de la Sibil.la de Girona: Vers 10 02:38
• 48 El cant de la Sibil.la de Girona: Vers 11-12 03:32
• 49 El cant de la Sibil.la de Girona: Choir IV 00:37
• Total Runtime 01:23:46

Info for El cant de la Sibil.la & Draumkvedet

Mystical songs between the visible and the invisible, The great ancient mystery chants of Spain and Norway

This is a program where the Hirundo Maris ensemble delves into two mystical chants that oscillate between the visible and the invisible and are rooted in the Middle Ages. Thanks to their beauty and magic, they have been sung throughout the centuries, keeping this ancient tradition alive to our times. Hirundo Maris reconnects the north with the south through these ancient origins, but it is in the medieval and Renaissance periods that they gain strength and musical journey filled with mystery. Both the song of the Sibyl and Draumkvedet have are sung in the vernacular language, in this case Catalan and Norwegian. Both el cant de la Sibil.la and Draumkvedet are sung on Christmas night and carry an apocalyptic, prophetic message: they are divine visions-revelations transmitted to humanity, the end of a world, and the birth of a new world. A mystical journey to the end of time.

The Song of the Sibyl comes from antiquity, but the first musical traces can be found in the 13th century. It is the song of the Apocalypse, of the final judgment, but also the coming of a new world. It is the wise voice of a feminine figure who, with her heartrending beauty of a song, conveys hope through forgiveness. In classical Greece, the Sibyl is the archetype of the prophetess, a woman of wisdom and the vehicle of divine revelations, a medium that conveys the oracle. This legendary figure of the pagan seer will be assimilated and reworked by Judeo-Christian monotheism, assuming a transcendental role in Christianity as the transmitter of the word of God.

In this program, we have chosen the first Sibyl, which will be sung in Catalan, of a more syllabic nature, found in the Cathedral of Barcelona, written down in 1415. The other Sibyl we have chosen is from Girona, written down in 1550, but that doesn't mean it wasn't sung much earlier! The Sibyl of the Cathedral of Girona is one of the most melismatic. But both Sibyls begin with an ascending fifth interval, indicating a bright, cosmic, and sacred song. In the 16th century, it became customary to sing the refrains of the Sibyl in several voices, and here we have chosen some polyphonic choruses of great beauty, some anonymous, others by Bartolomé Cárceres and Alonso.

In 2010, El cant de la Sibil.la became part of the world heritage.

Hirundo Maris is proud to present their unique rendition of Draumkvedet,an enthralling Norwegian medieval ballad, in their latest album. This adaptation not only preserves the essence of the original but also enhances it with fresh musical perspectives.

Draumkvedet, or "The Dream Poem," is an enigmatic and mesmerizing piece of Norwegian folklore, often regarded as one of the country's most valuable cultural treasures. Its haunting verses tell a dream-journey to the afterlife, symbolizing themes of life, death, and redemption that resonate deeply with human experience.

In this new recording, Hirundo Maris has meticulously selected 52 verses from the ballad and brought them to life using four traditional folk melodies. These melodies have often been employed in singing this rich text, and the group has embraced them to create a connective thread with the past.

The new choral and instrumental music in this rendition has been exclusively composed by Petter Udland Johansen, a leading member of the group. His compositions inject freshness into the timeless ballad, intertwining old with new and tradition with innovation. His other musical arrangements in the album seamlessly blend various musical elements to create a holistic auditory experience.

This unique version of "Draumkvedet" by Hirundo Maris stands as a homage to the medieval Norwegian culture and a testament to the limitless possibilities of music. It invites listeners to a mystical journey that transcends time, guided by the age-old melodies and fresh musical landscapes.

With heartfelt gratitude, we extend our sincere thanks to L’ensemble vocal de Saint-Maurice and their esteemed conductor, Charles Barbier. Your masterful collaboration and passionate performance during the premiere of El Cant de la Sibil·la and 'Draumkvedet – Grand Concert Dansé, on March 18th, 2023, at the Basilique Abbaye St-Maurice, brought our musical vision to life. Your artistry has imbued our work with a depth and grace that we will forever cherish.

We are also very grateful for the valuable and generous help of the great musicologist Maricarmen Gómez Muntané, a specialist in the Song of the Sibyl, with whom we have been able to work in depth and who has helped us better understand this fascinating world of the Sibyl.

This program, centered on the two mystical chants, has been carefully arranged by Hirundo Maris to take us on a journey related to winter, where the line between the visible and the invisible will be very subtle and full of mysteries. (Arianna Savall and Petter Udland Johansen, 17 august 2023, Maisprach)

Arianna Savall, soprano, gothic harp, the Trossingen lyre, the Norwegian Kravik lyre, singing bowl
Petter Udland Johansen, tenor, hardingfele, renaissance fiddle
Ian Harrison, whistles, borderpipe, bagpipes, mute cornet, shawm
Sveinung Lilleheier, Dobro d'Amore
Miquel Angel Cordero, medieval bass fiddle, violone
David Mayoral, percussions, bells, santur
Ensemble Vocal de Saint-Maurice
Charles Barbier, conductor

Hirundo Maris
In 2009, in Basel Switzerland Arianna Savall and Petter Udland Johansen founded the group Hirundo Maris, specialising in early music from the Middle Ages to the Baroque, as well as their own compositions and early fusion. Their creative core is Mediterranean and Nordic music, the fruit of their extensive musical partnership. Like a migratory bird, they retrace the routes across seas and music that have linked Scandinavia with the Iberian Peninsula since time immemorial.

Hirundo Maris regularly appears at numerous festivals around Europe, such as the Stanser Musiktage (Switzerland), Cologne’s Fest für Alte Musik, the Jazz in Church Festival, Bucharest (Romania), the Menuhin Festival Gstaad (Switzerland), the Bachwochen Thun (Switzerland), the Styriarte Festival (Austria), All’Improvviso Festival (Poland), the Oslo Kirkemusikk Festivalen, Nordlysfestivalen (Northern Lights Festival) Tromsø (Norway), Festival de Dinan (Brittany), Seduced by Harps (Belgium), the Sentmenat International Harp Festival (Catalonia), the Arp Sanati Dergi Festival in Istanbul (Turkey), Festival de Fontfroide and Philippe Maillard Productions (Paris), among others.

Hirundo Maris recorded their first disc Chants du Sud et du Nord under Manfred Eicher’s prestigious ECM record label. Personally produced by M. Eicher, the record won international critical acclaim. “The ensemble splices elements of Nordic and Mediterranean tradition into a drifting, formal but ballasted slow dance. Gorgeous.” Nick Coleman, Independent on Sunday, July 2012. Hirundo Maris has worked in collaboration with other groups and record labels, such as Alia Vox, Ramée Records and CAB Records.“Arianna Savall and Petter Udland Johansen propose a musical journey through time and space. Alternating between traditional music (Sephardic, Catalan, Spanish, Celtic and Norwegian melodies) and their own compositions, creating a distinctly individual universe of sound and poetry, combining with amazing naturalness the different styles of musical practice acquired throughout their careers with an extraordinary diversity that embraces all kinds of music. With their accompaniments on the harp and the hardingfele (Hardanger fiddle), Arianna Savall and Petter Udland Johansen achieve a deft and subtle evocation of each climate that shimmers with the thousand-and-one colours of the plucked strings. As usual, their voices convey a light that is warm and diaphanous by turns and tempered with perfect discipline and, above all, their ability to evoke lyrical inflections such as the natural brilliance of traditional song. Arianna and Petter have brought together in this recording a group of exceptional musicians from North and South, from artistically diverse traditions whose virtuosity enables them to move from one aesthetic style to another. The musicians of HIRUNDO MARIS (a Latin term meaning “sea swallow”) undoubtedly do justice to the name of the ensemble, effortlessly winging their way from one continent to another, from one period to another, creating in each piece an atmosphere of perfectly defined reflections, the whole being permeated with that Mediterranean and Nordic essence which underlies the irrepressible musical heritage of Arianna Savall and Petter Udland Johansen. At a time when we are eagerly exploring bridges between musical repertories, between art music and the timeless legacy of our oral traditions, the music in this album is remarkable for its exceptional originality and flawless musicality.” Yutha Tep

Booklet for El cant de la Sibil.la & Draumkvedet