The Wind Rose

The Wind Rose

The wind rose found on old nautical charts always has something intriguing and yet mysterious about it. It seems to say to us “Follow me and I will show you the wonders of this world ...”

When you are young, you stand there, looking at it, filled with curiosity, dreams and a thirst for adventure. The only thing you want at that moment is to board the first big ship that comes along and sail the seven seas. Sailing is a symbol of great freedom, of becoming one with the elements and the natural ebb and flow of energy: just like in music: sometimes there is no onward progress and we seem to remain in the same spot until - once again, the wind fills the sails and the ship glides swiftly through the waves with the effortless ease of a song, inviting us to drift along with it. Later, in the clear night, the stars appear, twinkling down on us. Their clear beacons of light have shown many generations of seafarers the way to a safe harbour and into the arms of those waiting for them at home. Stars give great consolation in lonely moments. They awaken in us a feeling of homesickness for the universe from which we once originated.

Hirundo Maris leads our wind rose from north to south and east to west, symbolising the four main musical directions explored by the ensemble: early music, traditional music, own compositions and free improvisation. These four sources of inspiration connect and embrace past and present. Music and poetry allow us to feel how humans throughout the cultures and centuries have loved, dreamed, laughed and cried together. When it is well made, music becomes timeless. Our music and poetry travel over the sea with its islands and fjords, but they convey much more than what is visible to the human eye. They also reflect our own inner experiences, the winds which blow deep within our souls and through our lives, taking us in so many different directions. Time and again we seek for safe harbors to feel loved and secure, keeping the stormy winds of life at a distance. The wind rose connects north and south, east and west, calls ancient song into existence and tells us stories that enchant us again and again, whisking us away from the greyness of everyday life for a little while.

The grand voyage can begin. We wish you all a safe journey! May Aeolus with his winds be with you. Let the anchor go!

Arianna Savall and Petter Udland Johansen

August 28th, 2017
Bellaterra

Sea Fever
Text: John Masefield, Music: Petter Udland Johansen
Petter’s family comes from a small island in southern Norway, where the sea meant everything to the people. It gave them much, but also took many things with it into the deep. The ocean stood for freedom and dreams of the unknown, but also for the place where humans would find their last rest. Life is wide, open and unforeseeable like the sea.

Lamento de Chinita (Marinero en Tierra)
Text: Rafael Alberti (1902-1999), Music: Arianna Savall
In this poem by Alberti, one can feel much of his lyrical essence. We can feel his love for the ocean, but also his respect for it, as it can take loved ones away from us. I feel it as a Lamento, like a prayer to the Archangel Raphael, the patron of the pilgrims and healer of our pains. I am using only a small romanic harp and my voice to convey the intensity of this emotional poem.

Oh Shenandoah
Trad. American, arr.: Petter Udland Johansen
There’s no better thing than singing when you have to work really hard! Labourers on rivers, oceans, railroads or highways have been the source of inspiration for so many folk singers. Today, men’s choirs sing these old shanties in four voices in their concerts. “Ship O’hoi!”

Carolan’s Suite
Turlough O’Carolan (1670-1738), arr.: Sylvia Woods / Arianna Savall
This suite consists of three pieces: two from the ingenious harp master O’Carolan (“Carolan’s Welcome” and “Fanny Power”), and one English jig “The Brig” (a sailing ship). O’Carolan’s music has always touched me deeply and I was curious to carry out an experiment and play his pieces on the baroque triple harp. He himself played a diatonic harp with metal strings, similar to the Irish Clàrsach. However, the triple harp came from Italy to England in his lifetime and was soon held in high esteem. The music of O’Carolan is a unique fusion of the Italian baroque music that he loved so much, and the folk music of his own native soil.

Scarborough Fair
Trad. English, arr.: Arianna Savall / Michael Hell / Petter Udland Johansen
The chorus “Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme” seems to have little meaning for us today. However, it is to be understood symbolically: parsley was used as a digestive in former times, as well as to soften the bitterness of foods. Sage has long been a symbol of strength. Rosemary stands for faithfulness, love, and remembrance. Even today, it is common for women in England to wear sprigs of rosemary in their hair. Thyme mainly symbolizes courage. At the time this song was written, knights would often have thyme painted on their shields when they went into battle. The singer of this song calls on these four plants to have mildness to sweeten the bitterness of his relationship, to have strength for the time in which the couple is separated from one another, to have faithfulness to stay together even when they are alone, and finally the courage to do “impossible” things and be together again as soon as conditions allow.

Yo soy la locura
Henri du Bailly (1587?-1637) arrangement: Arianna Savall / Petter Udland Johansen
Written in the form of a Pasacalle “La Folia”, this song has been taken from the book “Airs de cour mis en tablature de Luth” and is one of the most beautiful songs of this composer. Du Bailly was a talented singer, composer, and lutenist. His voice was much sought after, especially at the court of Louis XIII. My mother was the first singer of the 20th Century to revive this song with incredible beauty and poetry. I have accompanied her many times together with my father and brother. She would always say that she could identify so well with the character of “La Folia”, the folly. As an artist and mother, she knew the struggle to find a good balance and often felt that she would go crazy trying! I dedicate this song to my beloved and fantastic mother.

Fisher’s Hornpipe
Trad. Irish, arr.: Arianna Savall / Petter Udland Johansen
Your first jam session in an Irish pub is something you’ll never forget! Remember the smell of tobacco and beer, the sound of musicans playing familiar tunes with their eyes closed....this can be a deeply spiritual experience.

Sailor Boy
Trad. Appalachian, arr.: Benjamin Britten / Petter Udland Johansen
The archaic power of traditional music has time and again been a source of awe and inspiration for classical composers. It would be great if that would also happen the other way around one day: folk musicians daring to play and sing classical music from their very own musical standpoint.

House Carpenter
Trad. Scottish, arr.: Arianna Savall / Petter Udland Johansen
When loved ones die at sea and their bodies are never found, it is only natural to keep on hoping that they might return one day....just hopefully not in the shape of the devil, as in this song.

Ave maris stella
Latin Hymn (9th century), Music: Arianna Savall
I sang this beautiful text for the first time in the “Vespers of the Blessed Virgin” by Claudio Monteverdi. It completely enchanted me. For me, it is like an invocation to Maria, the patron saint of sailors and brings them home safely. She represents the Star of the Ocean, guides us through dark nights on the open sea and rough storms, and brings us hope and light in difficult times.

Adio Querida
Text: Isaac Levy / Oshik Levy / Roni Eran Trad. Sephardic, arr.: Petter Udland Johansen
This beautiful melody that stays with us for a long time is so full of lovesickness that the heart of the singer becomes flooded with grief and pain. But, there is also a sense of this state not lasting forever. New doors of love will open eventually, and the old pain will go away. Anything is possible.

Tha mi sgìth/ A trip to Sligo
Traditional Scottish Gaelic of the Hebrides / Trad. Irish, arr.: Arianna Savall
I found this fairy love song many years ago in the book “European love songs from eight centuries” by Cesar Bresgen, which was also a source of inspiration for our “Il viaggio d’Amore” CD. I was so amazed by this charming melody. I wanted to do the vocal part very slowly, like a Lamento. The fairy is waiting for her lover who is playing the violin. In the end, he finally comes and they dance the fairy dance all night until dawn.

Cançó de bressol de la mar
Text: Tomàs Gracés (1901-1993), Music: Arianna Savall
This captivating poem in the form of a lullaby is from the book “Vint Cançons”: twenty songs, inspired by the poet’s native village on the coast, Port de la Selva in northern Catalonia. His poetry has always fascinated me. The dreamy atmosphere takes on a very metaphorical and simple form, like in folkloristic poetry. For him, poetry originates from the pure fountain of dreams. In this lullaby we can see and feel the quiet deep sea, the clear stars, the dolphins, the sirens hiding between the algae: a paradise lost in the sea…

Sidste Reis
Text: Henrik Wergeland, Music: Petter Udland Johansen
The one thing we know for certain is that we are all going to die at some point. It is certainly helpful to prepare oneself for approaching death as we hear in this song. Nothing is left unsaid, and death comes as a savior and as the entrance into paradise. Dedicated to my beloved father, Åsmund Johansen.

Recorded May 2017

Location: Château de Flawinne, Namur, Belgium
Balance engineer & recording producer: Jonas Niederstadt
Corporate Design: Tim+Tim, timandtim.com
Cover photography: Bene Brandhofer and Leif Marcus
Booklet photography: Jonas Niederstadt
English translation of liner notes: Jonas Niederstadt

© 2017 Carpe Diem Records

Olyrix

The Wind Rose: Ariana Savall & Petter Johansen's gentle adventure across the four corners of the sea

"Arianna Savall and Petter Udland Johansen, together with their ensemble Hirundo Maris, invite you aboard their musical ship for an enchanting adventure. Carried by the winds, they convey the joys of encounters, dances, nostalgia for home and, above all, the pleasures and pains of love.

On their previous recording, Il viaggio d'amore, Arianna Savall and Petter Udland Johansen already invited listeners on a journey, from the music of the countries surrounding the North Sea, where the Norwegian singer comes from, to the songs of the Mediterranean, the cradle of the Catalan soprano. For this couple and their ensemble Hirundo Maris – “the sea swallow” – the sea remains an inexhaustible source of inspiration. Guided by the wind rose, their new album takes their audience to the four corners of the sea, following their musical encounters: traditional songs from the United States and Catalonia, ancient music from the 9th century, and creations and improvisations inspired by this fabulous journey.
Despite all these differences in place and time, the listener feels gently carried away into the same universe, full of serenity and peace. The waves that carry them are restful, even reassuring.

Although the sea is sometimes dark, it is never brutal. Even the loss of loved ones, swallowed up by the terrible waters that can be the vagaries of life, is synonymous with rest. Arianna Savall cannot help but dedicate Yo soy la locura (I am madness) to her mother, the singer Montserrat Figueras, who passed away in 2011, and Petter U. Johansen Sidste Reis (last journey) to her father. The beautiful and nostalgic Scottish song House Carpenter is also a moment for everyone to think of their departed loved ones.

For those who grew up with the sea, it is as generous as it is capricious. It inspires wonder, curiosity, and fear. The album begins with the sound of David Mayoral's wave brushes (special sticks used by percussionists) rubbing against the skin of one of his instruments. With his soft voice, devoid of lyricism but imbued with naturalness and sincerity, Petter U. Johansen first sings Sea Fever, with its soft country music tones, before Arianna Savall performs Lamento de Chinita alone, accompanying herself simply on the Roman harp, making the recitation of her Catalan poem all the more intense.
Love is inevitably part of the journey: after a few gentle dance variations in Carolan's Suite, the instrumentalists let Petter Johansen's hardingfele – a traditional Norwegian violin – and Arianna Savall's triple baroque harp dialogue, before finally uniting their voices in Scarborough Fair, a traditional English song. Despite the wounds that passions can inflict, sung with just the right phrasing in Adio Querida (goodbye, my dear), the two lovers are reunited and dance joyfully to the traditional Scottish Tha mi sgith (I'm sorry). Folk dances are a wonderful opportunity for everyone to share their enjoyment and talent for improvisation, particularly Fosher's Hornpipe, a traditional Irish dance where we can appreciate the jazzy solo by double bassist Miguel Ángel Cordero or the frenzied bodhran (traditional Irish percussion) by David Mayoral.

Beyond encounters, long crossings can also be wonderful opportunities to find oneself and dream, and for Arianna to sing her Canço de bressol de la mar (song of the sea cradle). Everyone then begins to sing about their country, like the American sailors with Oh, Shenandoah, who reminisce about their Missouri, with Petter Johansen not hesitating to use technology to create a choir of men singing sometimes a cappella. Solitude is also the simple admiration of the sea and the stars, which guide us and which cannot be seen so beautifully anywhere else, with Hirundo Maris performing an enchanting Ave Maris Stella (Hail, Star of the Sea)."

Emmanuel Deroeux, Olyrix.com