Arianna Savall

Arianna Savall's first album for ECM New Series under her own name follows her remarkable contributions to Rolf Lislevand's "Nuove musiche" and Helen Tulve's "Lijnen" – sensual early music there, daring contemporary composition here. Now comes "Hirundo Maris," which takes a completely different trajectory with its fresh instrumental textures. Savall and her co-bandleader Petter Udland Johansen describe their project as a journey connecting the Mediterranean with the North Sea. "Hirundo Maris" is the Latin name for the sea swallow, and similar to the nomadic life of these birds, the quintet – part early music ensemble, part folk group – drifts on musical currents between Norway and Catalonia, enriching them with their own songs and making sudden dives to explore beneath the surface of things. Arianna's sparkling harp playing and the evocative humming tones from Johansen's Hardanger fiddle form the sonic center; when colors like the mandolin and, even more surprisingly, the dobro (rarely heard outside of bluegrass music) are added, it in itself conveys a message about the universality of song form and the transatlantic journeys of many old ballads… Savall and Johansen have formed an ensemble with a bright, shimmering sound, crowned by Arianna's crystal-clear voice, which is equally well-suited to performing songs from both the North and the South. It is a voice already familiar to those who have followed the outstanding work of Arianna's parents, the Catalan master of the viola da gamba, Jordi Savall, and the singer Montserrat Figueras: until 2008, Arianna was a member of her father's various ensembles. Since then, she has dedicated much of her time to the Hirundo Maris project. About their "Chants du Sud et du Nord," Arianna and Petter Udland Johansen write: "From ancient times, North and South were connected by the waterways navigated by the Norwegian Vikings. Catalan and Sephardic Jews also shared this passion for the sea, which, through a common melancholy, connects peoples who seem far apart on a deeper level. We discover subtle musical bridges, for example, when a Catalan song and a Norwegian melody are connected by common rhythms and harmonies, or a Norwegian ballad and a Sephardic song are in the same key… The starting point of this project is the song 'El Mariner,' which is immensely popular in the coastal regions of Catalonia and tells the love story between a maiden from the Mediterranean and a knight from the far North. This typical European shanty with its dialogue form is also sung along the Scottish coast to a very similar melody. Could these elusive connections have been forged during the numerous journeys of the Vikings, Catalans, Scots, and Sephardic Jews?" Hirundo Maris sets out to find the answer. "Hirundo Maris: Chants du Sud et du Nord" was recorded in January 2011 at Propstei St. Gerold, produced by Manfred Eicher. Arianna Savall dedicated the recording to the memory of her mother, Montserrat Figueras. Arianna Savall, born in Switzerland, studied in Basel and Terrassa, Catalonia. In 1992, she began her studies of early music with Rolf Lislevand at the Conservatoire de Toulouse. From 1996 to 2001, she returned to the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis for postgraduate studies in singing with Kurt Widmer and historical harp playing with Heidrun Rosenzweig. In 2006/2007, she studied Spanish Baroque harp with Andrew Lawrence-King in Barcelona. She made her debut as a Baroque opera singer in 2000 in a performance of Florian Leopold Gassman's "Operia Seria" in Basel. In 2002, a very successful production of Monteverdi's "Orfeo" followed in Barcelona, directed by Jordi Savall, with Arianna in the role of Eurydice. Her recordings with the Savall family and the ensemble Hespèrion XXI have received numerous awards. Petter Udland Johansen received his first vocal and instrumental lessons in his hometown of Oslo. After graduating from the Norges Musikhøyskole in 1996, where he studied singing with Ingrid Bjoner and Svein Bjørkøy, and from the Schola Cantorum in Basel in 2000, he supplemented his vocal studies with tenor Hans-Peter Blockwitz. He is equally sought after as an interpreter of early music and at home on the opera stage. He participated with Jordi Savall in Monteverdi's "Orfeo" and has performed as a soloist in numerous masses and oratorios.