ECM New Series 2125
Recorded June 2009
Propstei St. Gerold
www.ecmrecords.com
The Hilliard Ensemble & Jan Garbarek
| 1. | Ov zarmanali (Armenian traditional/arr. Komitas) | [4:11] |
| 2. | Svjete tihij (Bysantine chant) | [4:14] |
| 3. | Allting finns (Jan Garbarek) | [4:18] |
| 4. | Litany a. Litany (Nikolai N. Kedrov) b. Otche nash (trad.) c. Dostoino est (anon.) | [13:06] |
| 5. | Surp (Armenian traditional/arr. Komitas) | [6:40] |
| 6. | Most Holy Mother Of God (Arvo Pärt) | [4:34] |
| 7. | Tres morillas m'enamoran (Spanish anonymous) | [3:32] |
| 8. | Sirt im sasani (Armenian traditional/arr. Komitas) | [4:06] |
| 9. | Hays hark (Armenian traditional/arr. Komitas) | [6:25] |
| 10. | Alleluia. Nativitas (Perotin) | [5:20] |
| 11. | We Are The Stars (Jan Garbarek) | [4:19] |
| 12. | Nur ein Weniges noch (poem by Giorgos Seferis, read by Bruno Ganz) | [0:19] |
Jan Garbarek, soprano and tenor saxophones
David James, countertenor
Rogers Covey-Crump, tenor
Steven Harrold, tenor
Gordon Jones, baritone
Jan Garbarek / The Hilliard
Ensemble ECM New Series 2125 The inspired bringing together of Jan Garbarek
and the Hilliard Ensemble has resulted in consistently inventive music
making since 1993. The unprecedented “Officium” album, with Garbarek’s
saxophone as a free-ranging ‘fifth voice’ with the Ensemble, gave the first
indications of the musical scope and emotional power of this combination.
“Mnemosyne” (1998) took the story further, expanding the repertoire beyond
‘early music’ to embrace works both ancient and modern.
Officium Novum
CD 476 3855
Release: September 2010
Now, after another decade of shared experiences, comes “Officium novum”, the
third album from Garbarek/Hilliard, recorded, like its distinguished
predecessors, in the St Gerold monastery. A central focus this time is music
of Armenia based on the adaptations of Komitas Vardapet, pieces which draw
upon both medieval sacred music and the bardic tradition of the Caucasus.
The Hilliards have studied these pieces in the course of their visits to
Armenia, and the modes of the music encourage some of Garbarek’s most
impassioned playing. Alongside the Armenian pieces in the “Officium novum”
repertoire: Arvo Pärt’s “Most Holy Mother of God” in an a cappella reading ,
Byzantine chant, two pieces by Jan Garbarek, including a new version of “We
are the stars”, as well as the Spanish “Tres morillas”. There is also a new
account of Perotin’s “Alleluia, Nativitas”: the freedom of interpretation is
testimony to the way the project as a whole has grown since its introduction
on ECM New Series, with the Hilliard Ensemble now very much involved in the
music’s improvisational processes and implications.
www.bremme-hohensee.de