The album was recorded in the St. Gerold monastery in Austria, and it is obvious from the way the sound of their voices resonates that it was done in a place like that where the acoustics were designed for natural amplification. The three vocalists display their talent song after song with clear, pure tones. As with most folk styles, the voices are without vibrato, which allows them to blend together even more tightly. Perhaps if I listened long enough I would learn to distinguish one vocalist from the other, but at this point I cannot, and that is as it should be.
Until I listened to this album, I had not actively sought out Norwegian music, folk or otherwise. However, periodically a musical phrase would jump out as vaguely familiar. Often I found myself thinking of the collection of Anonymous 4 albums on my CD shelves. Like the Anonymous 4, Trio Mediaeval are bringing the vocal songs of centuries past to modern listeners, and both are pulling from the European musical traditions, albeit Trio Mediaeval have a more focused collection of source material. I highly recommend that fans of the Anonymous 4 listen to Trio Mediaeval as well, if they are not doing so already.
As we in the northern hemisphere enter into the dark days of winter, it's the right time to put the haunting, yet beautiful music of Trio Medieaval's Folk Songs in our music players and let the sound waft over us until the spine-tingling sensations of the vibrations in our ears makes us shiver. Perhaps that might help to keep warm, if the warmth of joy in our hearts at hearing such beautiful music isn't enough.
Article comments
1 - El Bicho
sounds intriguing. I'll have to give it a listen
2 - Connie Phillips
Congrats! This article has been forwarded to the Advance.net websites and Boston.com.