Silent Night Early Christmas Music and Carols Arianna Savall & Petter Udland Johansen Hirundo Maris 1 The Holly and the Ivy & El noi de la mare 4:24 Trad. English & Catalan, arr. Arianna Savall & Petter Udland Johansen 2 El desembre congelat 5:29 Trad. Catalan, arr. Arianna Savall & Petter Udland Johansen 3 ¡Ay, que me abraso, ay! 4:43 Juan García de Zéspedes (c.1619–1679), arr. Arianna Savall & Petter Udland Johansen 4 Mitt hjerte alltid vanker 5:21 Trad. Scandinavian, arr. Arianna Savall & Petter Udland Johansen 5 Es ist ein Ros entsprungen 3:27 Michael Praetorius (1571–1621), arr. Arianna Savall 6 The Wexford Carol 7:44 Trad. Irish, arr. Arianna Savall & Petter Udland Johansen 7 Ô nuit brillante 7:17 Trad. Provençal, arr. Joseph Bovet, Arianna Savall & Petter Udland Johansen 8 El cant dels ocells 6:08 HIRUNDO MARIS Trad. Catalan, arr. Jordi Savall Arianna Savall soprano, Baroque triple harp, Renaissance harp Petter Udland Johansen tenor, hardingfele, mandolin 9 Kling no, klokka 2:39 Adam Taubitz violin (tr. 6) Trad. Norwegian Sveinung Lilleheier Dobro, acoustic guitar Gesine Bänfer cittern, flute, whistles 10 La Salve 6:50 Ian Harrison whistle, border pipe, mute cornett Arianna Savall Miquel Àngel Cordero double bass 11 Rug Muire Mac do Dhia 4:33 Pedro Estevan percussion Trad. Irish, arr. Arianna Savall 12 Stille Nacht 3:55 Recording: Kirche Maisprach, Switzerland, June 15–18, 2018 Executive Producer: Alexander Busche Franz Xaver Gruber (1787–1863) / Joseph Mohr (1792–1848) Recording Producer & Engineer: Jonas Niederstadt arr. Arianna Savall & Petter Udland Johansen Cover Image: akg-images / IMAGNO/Austrian Archives Photos: Jonas Niederstadt (pp. 4, 23), Hervé Pouyfourcat (p. 8) Total time: 62:35 P & C 2018 Sony Music Entertainment 2 Hirundo MarisRolf Lislevand 3 Silent Night Early Christmas Music and Carols “There are few such wonderful things as Christmas. Nearly 2,000 years on, the night in which a great When we started to choose the music for this new Christmas album, we knew that it would have human being was born is celebrated by almost all people on this earth. It’s a time when people say only to be a combination of songs from the South and the North of Europe. The mix of southern loving words to one another and want to do good to everyone. Isn’t that wonderful?” and northern music has become our main source of inspiration over the years since we founded Anton von Webern Hirundo Maris in 2009. Our music is based on four important elements: early music, folk music, our own compositions, and improvisation. We all play different instruments, but it is always the voices of Arianna and Petter that are at the center of our group. The joy of singing in harmony The year ends its round. This is the time when the night is sovereign. In the dark, faces move away. together, and of our voices melting into one, is something that we always search for. Life goes to sleep. The hours move differently. Everything is different: the familiar trees, the streets of the village, the sounds of the house. Strange face of the world, frightening mystery of darkness. When Christmas is upon us, and we all hope for those quiet nights and peaceful days with fam- When winter comes, the great ancestral fear comes back too, the anguish rising from the origins. ily and friends, we all want to hear again those good old songs that we remember so well from When will the day come back? When will the light be reborn? When will life return to its colors? childhood Christmases. We hope they will bring back happy memories and allow us to be a little And what if the world should descend into eternal night and cold? What if the old world should sentimental and romantic for a few days at the end of December. Each year we want nothing else die? At the solstice people approach the stars; their hearts are frightened by their smallness and but to follow the tradition from years before and drown ourselves in colorful decorations, ringing weakness. So, wisely, they contemplate the universe, and the place of their small world in a big bells, and a lot of sweets and great home-cooked meals that take forever to prepare and fill the world. It is the time of celebrations. To ward off fear, people gather. They hope for the promise of a home with the smell of Christmas. new dawn. They seek illumination in the fires they light. Innumerable, the years that make up the history of humanity. Innumerable, the destinies that have crossed the bridge of time. The human Every country has its own Christmas traditions and its own treasury of Christmas carols, and we tapestry unfolds through the seasons. Some stitches are marked with gold. Here is the story that listen to or sing them together around the piano or with some other instrument, or with no instru- has illuminated, forever and forever, the march of humans down the centuries. ment at all, with peaceful faces and with hope for a better future for this world we live in. Some of them, like Silent Night (Stille Nacht), are well known around the world and have been translated Hirundo Maris, the ensemble led by the Catalan Arianna Savall and the Norwegian Petter Udland into countless languages, but many of these songs have stayed hidden like a national treasure in- Johansen, invites us on a mystical journey into the magic world of winter, Advent and Christmas side their home countries. Singing the heavenly music of Christmas brings us peace and hope for music. This special programme of music, assembled by Hirundo Maris, contains songs with tra- all; singing is one of the best things for bringing people together. It is highly spiritual; we cannot ditional roots and ancient origins, songs from the North and the South, filled with rejoicing, and touch it, but we can all feel it deep inside our hearts. songs of the present that embrace the songs of the past. Hirundo Maris is characterized by very personal and creative musical arrangements and a love of the past merging with the present. In With this recording we want to show the rich and varied musical traditions within Europe’s this programme the ancient spirit harmonizes with the modern. Christmas celebrations. There are so many beautiful Christmas songs that it is easy to believe that songwriters get special inspiration when they write about Christmas. We seem to have a greater The pure and expressive voices of Arianna and Petter blend in delicate dialogue with a great longing for beautiful melodies at this time of the year, and we live in an age where beautiful mel- variety of instruments. The musicians of Hirundo Maris come from many European countries: odies are needed more than ever. Snow changes nature into a magical and mysterious place and Norway, England, Germany, Poland, Spain and Catalonia. We hear joyful bagpipes, the virtuoso makes one see our beautiful world from another perspective. We hope that this recording will cornetto and violins, flutes full of light, the intense hardingfele, the deep and steady bass, the poetic bring you some of the quietness and mystery of the first snowfall of winter. Dobro, the dreamlike harps, and the singing percussion. Basel, 18 August 2018 Marie Héritier, Arianna Savall, Petter Udland Johansen 4 Arianna Savall · Petter Udland Johansen 5 Stille Nacht Alte Weihnachtsmusik und -lieder Bei der Auswahl der Stücke für dieses neue Weihnachtsalbum wussten wir von Anfang an, dass wir Lieder aus dem Norden und dem Süden Europas mischen wollten. Seit der Gründung von »Es gibt nur wenig so wunderbare Sachen wie das Weihnachtsfest. Man muss bedenken: Hirundo Maris im Jahr 2009 ist diese Kombination von südländischer und nordischer Musik zu Nach fast 2000 Jahren wird die Nacht, da ein großer Mensch geboren wurde, noch von fast einer wesentlichen Inspirationsquelle für uns geworden. Unsere Musik basiert auf vier Haupt- allen Menschen dieser Erde gefeiert, als ein Augenblick, in dem man sich nur Liebes sagt elementen: alte Musik, Volksmusik, Eigenkompositionen und Improvisation. Wir alle spielen und jedem Gutes tun möchte. Das ist doch wunderbar.« unterschiedliche Instrumente, aber im Zentrum unseres Ensembles stehen immer die Stimmen Anton von Webern von Arianna und Petter. Dabei streben wir stets nach der Freude am gemeinsamen Singen und am Verschmelzen unserer Stimmen. Wenn das Jahr zu Ende geht, beginnt die Herrschaft der Nacht. Gesichter verschwinden in der Dun- kelheit. Das Leben ruht. Die Uhren gehen anders. Eigentlich ist alles anders: die vertrauten Bäume, Wenn Weihnachten vor der Tür steht und wir alle auf ruhige Abende und friedliche Tage mit die Straßen im Ort, die Geräusche im Haus. Die Welt zeigt uns ein fremdes Gesicht, die Dunkelheit unserer Familie und Freunden hoffen, dann gehören dazu auch die lieben alten Lieder, die wir ist furchteinflößend und geheimnisvoll. Mit dem Anbruch des Winters kehrt die urtümliche Angst als Kinder zu Weihnachten gehört und gesungen haben. Wir hoffen, dass sie schöne Erinne- zurück, die große Furcht alter Zeiten. Wann wird es wieder hell? Wann wird das Licht neu geboren? rungen in uns wecken und uns am Ende des Jahres ein wenig sentimental und romantisch sein Wann bekommt das Leben wieder Farbe? Wäre es möglich, dass die Welt für immer in Nacht und lassen. Jedes Jahr wünschen wir uns nichts weiter, als dass alles so bleibt wie in früheren Jahren, Kälte versinkt? Dass die Welt, wie wir sie kennen, sterben muss? Zur Wintersonnenwende heben die und wir wollen schwelgen in farbenfrohen Dekorationen, Glockengeläut, Bergen von Süßig- Menschen ihren Blick zu den Sternen; ihre Herzen sind voller Angst angesichts der eigenen Schwä- keiten und köstlichen Speisen, die mit großem Aufwand zubereitet werden und das Haus mit che und Bedeutungslosigkeit.