Composer: Henrik Ødegaard
Performer: Vox Clamantis
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: ECM
Catalogue: 4858473
Release: 2023
Size: 1 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
01. Ødegaard: Jesu, dulcis memoria
02. anon.: Alleluia. Pascha nostrum
03. Ødegaard: O filii et filiæ
04. anon.: Kyrie
05. anon.: Pater noster
Ødegaard: Meditations over St. Mary Magdalene’s Feast in Nidaros
06. I. Maria dilexit multum
07. II. Psalm 62 (Vul. 63), antiphon “Mihi osculum non desisti”
08. III. Canticum Trium Puerorum, antiphon “Oleo caput meum non unxisti”
09. IV. Psalm 148-150, antiphon “Ideoque dico tibi”
10. V. Benedictus, antiphon “In diebus illis”
11. VI. Hymn “Æterne Deus omnium”
12. VII. Magnificat, antiphon “O, Maria, mater pia”
13. VIII. Maria, tibi persolvum
On this newest endeavour, the Vox Clamantis choir, under the direction of Jaan-Eik Tulve, turns its attention towards Norwegian composer Henrik Odegaard with a fine-drawn programme of liturgical choral music.
In a subtle sleight of hand, Odegaard’s compositions interweave Gregorian chant with Norwegian folk song. The composer employs Gregorian and paschal hymns as source material, from which he then draws his own polyphonic layers and extensions. The main work here is the eight-part Meditations over St. Mary Magdalene’s Feast in Nidaros, based on antiphons found in a 13th-century manuscript from medieval Scandinavia. Odegaard’s compositional process transfigures these antiphons, sensitively brought to light by Vox Clamantis.
On past ECM recordings, the choir has addressed works of Arvo Part, Erkki-Sven Tuur and most recently Estonian composer Cyrillus Kreek – an acclaimed recording, which BBC described as “magic of another sphere”.
The album was recorded at the St. Nicholas Dome in Haapsalu, Estonia in March 2021.