
Midgard
Big Round Records 2015
La Mandragore, a historical five-member ensemble from Quebec, Canada, imagines the music of the Vikings had they had the time and leisure to notate it. Playing folk instruments from the Mediterranean and Scandinavian regions, and singing songs and tales in Swedish, Norwegian, Old Norse, and French, the ensemble presents an authentic and eclectic collection of Vikinginspired music on their debut Big Round Records release, MIDGARD.
Enthusiastic, engaging, and expressive, La Mandragore capture the voice of a culture that disseminated throughout Europe, masterfully playing Scandinavian folk instruments such as the sackpipa and the nyckelharpa (a Swedish keyed fiddle), while displaying their modern sensibilities and aptitude.
« (…) Bien sûr, La Mandragore conserve des instruments qui ont fait leur marque, tels la flûte à bec, l’oud, le cistre et quelques percussions ; bien sûr que des métissages avec le Moyen-Orient sont encore explorés, mais la présence nordique, tout comme le développement du chant collectif, confère à ce disque un fort caractère.»
Y. Bernard, Le Devoir (28 août 2015)
«(…) La Mandragore nous sert en islandais, en suédois, ou même en français, des interprétations intuitives et des compositions inspirées de textes anciens jouées sur des instruments qui le sont tout autant (chalémie, cistre ou traverso, entre autres). Pour voyager!»
R. Beaucage, Voir (19 août 2015)
« The 12 tracks on the CD are remarkably effective in generating a sense of otherworldliness (…) The presentation of the material is uniformly excellent, with all members of La Mandragore except cellist Amanda Kesmaat providing vocals at some point in addition to their instrumental contributions. Midgard is scarcely a clear window into the past, but it is a fascinating, even exhilarating way to explore a possible past through music that has considerable charm and a character quite unlike that with which modern listeners are likely to be familiar.»
The Infodad Team (11 juin 2015)
Interview at Radio-Canada (June 3d, 2015) in French
Interview at CIBL (May 26th, 2015) in French