In 2010 UNESCO declared the Song of the Sibyl part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, as one of the most fascinating documents of Medieval European culture. A prophetess of Apollo, foreteller of misfortunes and calamities, the Sibyl entered the Christian world as the earliest announcer of Christ’s coming and of his return on Doomsday.

The text was sung over a suggestive melody that has survived to our day across seventeen centuries, handed down through various manuscripts and languages.

This release features the Catalan version of the Song performed in all its expressive intensity by the poignant interpretation of the native language singer Eugenia Amisano, accompanied by the instrumentalists and voices of the Musicaround Ensemble. The programme also includes a selection of rare pieces related by content, in a journey that reveals how the Sibyl’s prophecy sounds at this particular time in history, and proving surprisingly topical.

The transcriber, orchestrator and conductor is Vera Marenco who, working on the variety of instrumental and vocal forces and with a particular care for the choral parts, balances the need for a neat, contemporary reading with the popular origin of the rite.

“To match the intensity and magnetism of the Sibyl, I wanted a large choir … which would bring back the popular origin of this rite:..it is the voice of humanity, asking and wondering what its destiny will be at the end of time.

“This recording took place at a small church on the hills behind Genoa, not far from the construction site of the famous, but sadly collapsed Morandi Bridge, right in the middle of one of the meteorological emergencies that now often affect our region. The editing was done while the entire world was facing the Covid-19 pandemic. It was a combination of events that sounded like a confirmation of the topical message of these texts on the destructive power mankind can exercise against itself. Even if I felt dismay, I was reassured by the fact that one can be in contact with nature, with humanity, with history, with the past and the future while living in the present and dealing with Medieval music, fully involved and not escaping from the world as sometimes happens to musicians.”
– Vera Marenco