On paper, Hildegard von Bingen’s mystic hymns and the polyphonic Messe de Tournai seem to be miles apart. Nevertheless, the crystalline voices of Trio Mediaeval effortlessly bridge the gap between the visionary abbess of the 12th century and the fascinating manuscript from Tournai, in which six parts of the mass were put together around 1349 to create one of the earliest polyphonic masses. The Norwegian ensemble, which has been pushing back the boundaries of vocal perfection since 1997, remains loyal to the sources while lending them an surprising contemporary eloquence. Acclaimed for their “astonishingly pure intonation” and “magical merging of voices”, the singers take both Hildegard’s timeless melodies and the layered polyphony of the Tournai mass to new heights: a journey of the soul that refuses to be restricted by time or space.
Performers
Linn Andrea Fuglseth, Anna Maria Friman, Jorunn Lovise Husan, vocals