Officium Novum

Product Description

Jan Garbarek: saxophones; David James: countertenor; Rogers Covey-Crump: tenor; Steven Harrold: tenor; Gordon Jones baritone

This is Long awaited third album from one of the most touching and magical sound combinations in music today: Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek with Britain's premier vocal group The Hilliard Ensemble. The inspired combination of Garbarek and the Hilliards has resulted in consistently inventive music making since 1993. The unprecedented Officium album, with Garbarek's saxophone as a free-ranging 'fifth voice' with the Ensemble, gave the first indications of the musical scope and emotional power of this combination. Not to mention the commercial appeal - selling over a million copies worldwide. Mnemosyne (1998) took the story further, expanding the repertoire beyond 'early music' to embrace works both ancient and modern. And now, after another decade of shared experiences, comes Officium Novum, that finds the collective at the crossroads of East and West, with a central focus on themusic of Armenia based on the adaptations of Komitas Vardapet ( pieces which draw upon both medieval sacred music and the bardic tradition of the Caucasus.)