Customer Reviews

Words of the Angel

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This CD was not exactly what I expected, but the fault is mine, not the CD's. I saw that there were a number of Gregorian chants, but was expecting there to also be some songs with harmonies and rhythms more consistent with secular medieval music. There was really very little of that (a few tracks were more musical and less chant-y, but still unmistakably "church music"), but the music was everything you could hope for in a recording of Gregorian chants.

Beautiful female voices add a different dimension to the music than the more widely-recorded monastic renditions of these chants. The music is very atmospheric, and evoked memories of the quiet stillness of European cathedrals (specifically Reims, in my case, probably because that's the most impressive cathedral I've ever been in). It was definitely recorded in a cathedral-like space, though. The acoustics practically scream of high stone ceilings.

This one is definitely worth a listen.

I bought this CD on an impulse, not knowing what to expect. The three a capella female vocalists harmonize in the most eerily beautiful way -- this CD is as close to transcendental music as I've ever heard. Everyone I've shared it with has had the same reaction -- the music is riviting and relaxing at the same time. A must for Gregorian chant lovers and anyone else who appreciates the majesty of the human voice.

This recording simply stops you in your tracks- you put down what you are doing and listen! Sublimely beautiful,this music is ectasy for the ears. The three Norwegian women who do the singing are extraordinary. Do yourself a favor. Acquire this recording, take some time, and listen!

Trio Mediaeval is the name chosen by three Scandinavian singers who specialize in the early music of the church. Gregorian chant or Plainsong is one of the oldest forms of Western religious music and though much of the original chanting was one-part intoning by the monks, the composers of the time gradually created polyphony and the results are well sampled on this beautifully recorded CD.

Not only does this a cappela trio of women's voices demonstrate a clarity of tone and pitch and timbre, they move through these at times complex harmonies with utter ease. In addition to excerpts from the Anonymous Tournai Mass, the Trio weaves the mysteries of English and Italian chant and even includes a truly beautiful contemporary setting of the chant form by Ivan Moody entitled 'Words of the Angel'.

This is one of those recordings that soothes the mind and soul and confirms the importance of medieval music on the development of music through the ages. A new recording by this group entitled "Stella Maris" is promised soon and having heard that recording it is even better! The Trio Mediaeval is a fine performing arts group that should have a long life. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, September 05

... you're almost certain to adore the a capella women's voices of "Trio Mediaeval". They interpret the same repertoire, specializing in the mostly anonymous early polyphony, sacred and secular, of England, but willingly extending their programs to France and Italy. They sing it angelically... with the melancholy allure of Romanesque chapels by twilight... and in neither case is there the slightest historical justification for such an affect or for the performance of such music by women at all. In short, they are both intrinsically "modern" ensembles making new use of ancient material. Both ensembles do it beautifully, but I give the edge to Trio Mediaeval in terms of technical virtuosity. Their tuning is more accurate, the vocal blend is better balanced with contralto Torunn Ossum holding the 'tenor', their ornamentation is more graceful and natural, and quite frankly they have lovelier voices. The three women -- Anna Maria Friman, Linn Andrea Fuglseth, and Torunn Østrem Ossum -- are Norwegians, who have studied with Paul Hillier of the Hilliard Ensemble.

The repertoire on this CD has three parts. The centerpiece is the famous "Missa Tournai", the oldest known polyphonic setting of the mass ordinaries (Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Agnus Dei, Ita missa est), assembled in a choirbook sometime in the 14th Century but almost certainly taken from various sources. Interspersed among the ordinaries are several monodies (solo voices) from the Laudario de Cortona, Italy. Most interesting of all, musically, are eight anonymous polyphonic 'antiphons' from manuscripts that have survived the destruction of monasteries in England. This is truly mysterious, almost barbaric, pre-European music, which carries one back to the Romanesque Abbeys, to the synthesis of Celtic and Nordic cultures that distinguished English music from anything continental right until the end of the 17th C.

This CD is so beautiful and relaxing. It's like a mental massage. I don't know a lot about music, but this recording and the voices of these women are so pure and in harmony, that I can't imagine it being any better.

This is a wonderfully recorded CD- I place this recording with Reference Recording HDCD and Diana Krall recordings. Even though I don't understand one word, this recording is hauntingly musical. A++

I'm a big fan of religious choral classical music, and this album was not nearly as good as I was expecting it to be. It is good music, and the performers do a fine job, but it is not as awe inspiring as most of the music I listen to.

The music has very little variance of dynamics. Many people like music where one setting of the volume control works throughout the entire piece, but I prefer music that has quieter parts and louder parts. Music is more expressive when it changes dynamics, or especially when the composer tastefully uses silence. These composers did not use any silence at all in their pieces. That, combined with the performers swinging their notes made the pieces feel too hurried. The embellishments were also annoying, because some of the notes just felt unimportant, almost like they were only put in to avoid the singer singing one note for too long. But the embellishments made the piece feel too busy, and not contemplative enough. The only modern piece on the CD (the 19th track, composed by Moody) fits in well with the CD, and is definitely in the old style.

The music does sound distinctively western European, and not similar to the orthodox Christian tradition. As much as I've criticized some aspects of the music in the above paragraph, I do like the music. It does a good job of helping one attain the peaceful spiritual mood it attempts to instill.

However, I give it only a 3 because there are many other pieces which do a better job at giving the listener a peaceful, sometimes mournful, contemplative content mood. I can't go around giving a 5 to every CD I like - it would be unfair to my truly favorite CDs. Some choral pieces that I prefer include Rachmaninov's Vespers & Liturgy to St John, Silvestrov's 4th movement of his Requiem to Larissa, both Szymanowski & Dvorak's Stabat Maters, Henryk Gorecki's 3rd Symphony, Avet Terterian's 6th Symphony, most of Arvo Part's later music (after his switch to tintinnabuli), and a few other modern works from that part of the world.

I do realize that not everyone has the same tastes as me, so there will be those who love this music more than they would love the pieces that inspire me the most. However, reviews are a place to not just hear from those who are the biggest fans of a type of music, but to hear from those who are buying the music even though it is not completely their style of music.

ECM did a fine job on its side. The sound quality is great, and the liner notes were fabulous. There was even more music on this CD than one often finds on ECM releases (they often put well under an hour of music on one CD).

I do recommend this CD, as it is quite accessible to those who do not regularly listen to classical music. It is beautiful music, yet it is still music that most people can appreciate.

The title of this CD does a wonderful job to tell what's included. It's the best music I've ever heard. I believe that if there do exist angels in Heaven, their songs could not be better than the ones on this CD!

If you are not inspired by these contemplative arrangements, you might want to check your pulse. Very insprired, indeed.