Recordings by the Norwegian label 2L are a celebration in themselves, but with YULE by Trio Mediæval, label boss and sound engineer label boss and sound engineer Morten Lindberg has once again created a small monument to himself. This time it's Christmas tunes from the far north that he has prepared for your home speakers. And, of course, once again with proven sound quality.

Trio Mediæval is a vocal ensemble formed in Oslo in 1997 by singers Anna Maria Friman, Linn Andrea Fuglseth and Jorunn Lovise Hasan, who have worked primarily with ECM. For YULE, the trio has been joined by five instrumentalists: Anders Jormin on double bass, Arve Henriksen on trumpet and organ, Vegar Vårdal on fiddle and Hardanger fiddle, Sinica Langend on the lute-like kantele and percussionist Helge Andreas Norbakken.

And Yule? That's not just Christmas in Norwegian. It is rather a pre-soft-night festivity that is revived here. And the Mediæval trio does just that, accompanied by sensitive and sparsely used instruments. With plenty of sonic space and well-balanced voices, the three ladies create relaxing soundscapes that are relaxing in a pre-modern way.

The selected pieces range from classic Christmas carols such as Det hev ei rosa sprunge (A rose has sprung) and In dulci jubilo to English carols such as Lullay, lullay: As I lay and There is No Rose and Latin classics of the festive season.

Some interpretations are not just singing, but an acoustically narrated story, for example when the percussion in In dulci jubilo rumbles like a thunderstorm in the background. Apart from that, however, YULE is essentially a calm and relaxing album that lets you forget the time for an hour and five minutes.

Of course, this is also helped by the acoustics, which, as usual for Lindberg, are of excellent transparency and honesty. It is particularly charming how Lindberg utilises the natural acoustics and the reverberation of the recording space - the Sofienberg Church in the east of Oslo - to enhance the quality of the recording. This creates both fullness and breadth. In other words, an acoustic work of art.

Definitely a very beautiful recording. (Thomas Semmler, HighResMac)

Trio Mediæval:
Sinikka Langeland, kantele
Vegar Vårdal, hardanger fiddle and fiddle
Arve Henriksen, trumpet and organ
Anders Jormin, double bass
Helge Andreas Norbakken, percussion

Recorded in Sofienberg Church, Norway, March 2024
Engineered, mixed, mastered by Morten Lindberg
Produced by Arve Henriksen