Officium Novum

iTunes Review

In 1993, Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek teamed up with the Hilliard Ensemble, a vocal group that specializes in early music, to create Officium. The album focused on early music, but on the 1998 follow-up, Mnemosyne, the collaborators included modern material as well. 2010’s Officium Novum also mixes the old and the new, with a spotlight on the work of Armenian composer Komitas Vardapet (1869-1935). Komitas’ work, represented here by “Ov Zarmanali,” “Surp,” “Sirt Im Sasani,” and “Hays Hark,” draws on medieval sacred music and folk. On one track, the Hilliard Ensemble intones a lovely version of Arvo Pärt’s spare “Most Holy Mother of God,” a composition written specifically for the group. Pérotin’s “Alleluia. Nativitas” is a striking piece that finds the singers and the saxophonist turning in spirited improvisations. Officium Novum also features two pieces by Garbarek: “Allting Finns,” which sets a poem by Pär Lagerkvist, and “We Are The Stars,” which is based on a poem of the Passamaquoddy, a Native American ethnic group.