Group: Trio Mediaeval and Arve Henriksen
Album: Rimur
Track: O Jesu Dulcissime
It’s odd that Norwegian vocal ensemble Trio Mediaeval came across my radar only relatively recently, given my long-standing love of Anonymous 4. Perhaps love is truly, as they say, blind.
The trio is known mostly for their performance of medieval polyphonic music, though they do explore other genres. Their album Rimur, performed and arranged with Norwegian jazz trumpeter Arve Henriksen, is an excellent example of such exploration in it’s (to my knowledge) unique combination of medieval polyphony, Scandinavian folk music and jazz.
As a wind from the north, it is chilly but not icy, and the second track on the album (O Jesu Dulcissime) is stunning.
O Jesu Dulcissime is a contrapuntal tapestry of beautiful female voices, traditional fiddle and a trumpet that doesn’t always sound quite like trumpet. An oft-noted aspect of Mr. Henriksen’s trumpet style is a breathy, flute-like pianissimo. During the opening of the piece, one should be forgiven for mistaking it as flute or voice. As the piece progresses, the timbre becomes more recognizable as trumpet until, about three-quarters of the way through, it soars into pangs of a jazz-like wailing.
It might seem cliché to describe this music as haunting, but that’s precisely what it is: a memory of a cold-lit day from long ago, or perhaps only yesterday.
Written by Brian Tibbs