BOANN
The Twa Sisters - De Två Systrarna
Philippe Cousin
Formed in 2005 following the meeting between guitarist and harpist Jean-Luc Lenoir and Éléonore Billy who had just returned from Sweden after studying Scandinavian music on the nickelharpa, a traditional Swedish instrument, the band Boann has evolved since its beginnings and the group currently includes, apart from the first two mentioned, Joanne McIver on vocals, small pipes, whistle and flute and Gaëdic Chambrier on guitar and mandolin.
They recorded previous albums in 2008, 2012 and 2016 and are back this time with The Twa Sisters - De Två Systrarna, a meeting between a traditional Anglo-Scottish universe and Scandinavian music. Alternating the ambiences of these two traditions and carried by the voice of the Scottish J. McIver and instruments such as the harp, the hardanger fiddle (Norwegian violin), the dulcimer, the psaltery or the Welsh crwth, Boann takes the listener between Elsinore and Scotland, gliding from the Irish Sea to the Icelandic coast.
The Twa Sisters is a very long Scottish ballad of about forty verses which has its equivalent in Scandinavia and has been conveyed since the 15th century by oral tradition. The similarity between Anglo-Scottish and Nordic texts is striking, many verses being the same in both languages. Thirteen tracks follow one another in this way, songs in English, Swedish or Gaelic, which tell us the legend of the two sisters, stories of knights, sirens and swans, or even minstrels, all in a light and delicate atmosphere, like the strings of the instruments used here. Four guests are also present: Christophe Saunière on harp, Gabriel Lenoir on fiddle, Martin Coudroy on accordion and Eskelina Svanstein on singing in Swedish. Some traditional songs can be recognized here: Two Sisters and One Knight, Wind and Rain, A Mermaid and a Swan. A beautiful album that takes us on board a drakkar on a sea of serenity and delicacy.
Compagnie de l’Essaim 171740 – www.boann4tet.com