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The Swedish soprano Anna Maria Friman is currently working on a PhD at the University of York (UK), where she is researching the modern performance of medieval music by women. For six years she was teaching singing and coaching vocal ensembles at the University. Anna now lives in Norway and will give occasional workshops in York over the next year. Anna's solo engagements include performances with Gavin Bryars Ensemble, Red Byrd, Last Century Ensemble (with John Potter and Nicky Losseff), The Ciconia Ensemble, Peter Hill, the NYYD Ensemble (Estonia), Latvian Radio Choir, Stuttgart Bach Choir, Det Norske Solistkor, The Girl Choristers of Washington National Cathedral, Collegium Vocale Gent and Ricercar Consort directed by Philippe Pierlot. Anna is a member of the Scandinavian vocal ensemble Trio Mediæval that specializes in medieval music from England, France and Italy, contemporary works and Norwegian traditional songs and ballads. The trio has released 3 CDs on ECM Records. 'Words of the Angel', (2002) 'Soir dit-elle' (2004) and 'Stella Maris' (2005) immediately went to The Billboard Top 10 Bestsellers list. "Singing doesn't get more unnervingly beautiful than the exquisite display mounted in Herbst Theatre on Thursday night by Trio Mediaeval. With its cool, unerringly precise blend of voices, the group made a local debut that has to count among the musical highlights of the year." - San Fransisco Chronicle The trio has performed in venues such as New York's Carnegie Hall and Merkin Hall, Washington DC's Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Wigmore Hall, Canterbury Cathedral, the Vienna Konserthaus, the Oslo Concert House, Antwerp’s deSingel , Amsterdam’s Muziekgebouw, Girona Cathedral, Gothenburg Domkirke and Turku Cathedral. In November 2005 the trio mediaeval performed four shows at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York together with the German musikFabrik in 'Shelter'; a Contemporary Oratorio with projections, with music by the American composer-trio Bang on a Can (Julia Wolfe, David Lang and Michael Gordon). The work had its European premier in Cologne and Essen in Germany last year and was recently performed in Amsterdam, Antwerp and St. Pölten. In June 2006 the trio performed with Tord Gustavsen Trio in a world premiere collaboration concert in Harstad, at the Festspillene i Nord-Norge. Tord composed the music; ‘musical miniatures’ with lyrics by the Sufi poet Jelaluddin Rumi (1207-1273). This summer the two trios have met again, during the Festspillene in Bergen, where the trio medieval was the ‘Artist in Residence’ for two weeks, and later at the Festspillene i Elverum. Anna has performed at Balejazz and at Dalsfjord uka in a duo format with the Norwegian trumpet player Arve Henriksen. Anna has a BA in solo performance from the Barratt Due Institute of Music in Oslo, Norway, where she studied with Thorbjørn Lindhjem. She continued her postgraduate studies at Trinity College of Music in London with Linda Hirst and Barbara Bonney. A new programme of music by the legendary 14th century composer Ciconia made its first appearance at York last Autumn performed by The Ciconia Ensemble and the student group Yorvox. In the future it will be available as a secular programme with this line-up, or in a version including mass movements and motets that can be done in collaboration with local choirs or ensembles. For the secular programme the group will be joined by the Norwegian soprano Linn Andrea Fuglseth (trio mediaeval). Last year Anna performed in the Sonnets Project 'Nothing like the sun' (collaboration between RSC and Opera North). The project had its premier at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford Upon-Avon in February and has since then toured extensively in the UK and Belgium. |
"The voices of three women, each one distinct and yet all three closely melded. Nothing else. White voices, dark silence all around them. I think the group is breathtaking - arresting, vivid, calm but never peaceful, with every moment ready to bring a surprise.' - Greg Sandow, The Wall Street Journal |
