TRIO MEDIAEVAL – Soir, dit-elle (2004) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The pure voices of Anna Maria Friman, Linn Andrea Fuglseth, and Torunn Østrem Ossum combine to make Trio Mediaeval a sensation among early music fans. Yet Soir, dit-elle is largely an album of contemporary works written especially for this group by such active composers as Gavin Bryars, Ivan Moody, Andrew Smith, and Oleh Harkavyy. With the exception of the late medieval Missa Alma redemptoris mater by Leonel Power and the twelfth century chant on which it is based, the works are modern imitations in the medieval ecclesiastical style. Despite the trio's beautiful harmonies and the restful calm of its performances, the program is possibly too homogeneous and subdued for any but the most ardent devotees of chant or seekers of music for meditation. That modern composers choose to mimic ancient music -- rather too obviously, with a great profusion of fauxbourdons and Landini cadences -- is a sticking point for those who might wish for something more original and daring. Listeners will find little spice in the selections, which are modal and only mildly dissonant. Moody's Troparion of Kassiani and A Lion's Sleep are the most adventurous in their progressions, though conservative tastes are unlikely to be offended, for the music flows smoothly and the album's sacred ambience is never disrupted. Blair Sanderson