The colours of The Magical Forest glow in this remarkable recording which brings together Sinikka Langeland’s Norwegian-Finnish-Swedish Starflowers quintet with the singers of the Trio Mediӕval. It’s an inspired concept: the Trio Mediӕval, with their affinity for folk music and their unique vocal blend, adapt themselves ideally to Sinikka’s sound-world, which is once archaic, timeless and contemporary. The quintet members, all bandleaders in their own right, are amongst the most characterful players in Scandinavia today, and Sinikka sets them free to improvise around her cycle of songs, built upon myths and legends of the world tree.

The half-Finnish Sinikka sets "The half-finished heaven" - and other verse by Tomas Tranströmer - on her fourth album for ECM. “Despondency breaks off its course / Anguish breaks off its course / The vulture breaks off its flight. / The eager light streams out …” Such vivid images establish a tone for what is primarily an instrumental album this time, with a striking blend of sound-colours in music written by Langeland.

The story of Mary Magdalene has been a source of comfort for many women, and research has shown that medieval ballads about Mary Magdalene are often sung by single mothers. Young women who were out¬casts must have found some measure of consolation in the songs about Mary, who bore children with her father, her brother and a priest, but was cleansed of sin after doing penance in the wilderness for many years.