Hirundo Maris – Looking for New Horizons, Book I (Seyir Müzik, 2025)
Looking for New Horizons is the lovely debut album by Hirundu Maris, a pan-European ensemble led by Spanish soprano vocalist and harpist Arianna Savall, Norwegian tenor and multi-instrumentalist Petter Udland Johansen, and Turkish kamancha (kemençe) virtuoso Derya Türkan. The ensemble connects the music of medieval Europe and the Ottoman East. Nonetheless, the artists weave this historical repertoire with contemporary arrangements, drawing from a wide geographic and cultural span, from Norwegian fjords in Northern Europe to eastern and western Mediterranean shores.
The album explores sacred and secular music traditions beautifully, offering a curated journey through ballads, laments, courtly love songs, and Ottoman instrumental forms. Highlights include the Norwegian epic “Rolandskvadet”; the troubadour classic “Lanquan li jorn son lonc en may”; “Machaut’s Je ne cuit pas”; and a setting of Rumi’s mystical verse in “La mer et la pierre.” Masterfully interwoven are instrumental works such as “Kurdi Peşrev”; “Rast Peşrev”; and “Nihavend-i Kebir Kâr”; performed with period instruments including harp, lyre, oud, vielle, and hardingfele (hardanger fiddle).
The album’s set reveals a balance of vocal and instrumental selections, a total of 13 pieces, each reflecting distinct historical roots:
Rolandskvadet – Norwegian Medieval Ballad (Traditional/Johansen)
Je ne cuit pas – Guillaume de Machaut
Lanquan li jorn son lonc en may – Jaufré Rudel/Arianna Savall
Kürdi Peşrev – Ermeni Murad Çelebi/Tristan Driessens
Chanterai por mon corage – Guiot de Dijon
Quando i oselli canta – Madrigal, Codex Rossi (Anonymous)
O Maria stella maris – Florence, 13th century (Anonymous)
Rast Peşrev ‘Murassa’ – Anonymous
På Dovrefjell – Norwegian Medieval Ballad (Traditional/Johansen)
Nihavend-i Kebir Kâr – Abdülkadir Meragî/Tristan Driessens
La mer et la pierre – Rûmî/Arianna Savall
La bionda treçça – Francesco Landini
Het regent zeer – Traditional Flemish lament, 14th century (Tristan Driessens)
The core ensemble features: Arianna Savall on soprano vocals, Romanesque harp, gothic harp, kravik lyre; Petter Udland Johansen on tenor vocals, vielle, hardingfele, Kravik lyre; Derya Türkan on kamancha; Tristan Driessens on oud, soprano oud, lavta; Efrén López on hurdy-gurdy, oud, lavta, medieval lute, Afghan rabab, Cretan lauto; and David Mayoral on percussion, bells, santur.
Author: Madison Quinn
