Illumination - Mediaeval Baebes

Advantages: A chance to see the Baebes perform
Disadvantages: You may not like them

...You may or may not have heard of the Baebes. If you have, you may already know whether you like them or not, but if you haven't heard of them, you may be in for a treat. The Mediaeval Baebes are a group of seven (at the last count, it changes from time to time), young women with Katherine Blake as the musical director. Katherine is classically trained and it shows, but most of the others are musicians and vocalists without the classical training. This is good as i am pretty certain that there were very few vocal trainers for the people that originally sang this type of music. The music in question varies between mediaeval Latin and Welsh, along with English spanning hundreds of years. There is even a song in Manx Gaelic and a cornish song. Some of the songs are very bawdy, such as dringo bell and ah si mon Moine. The latter is... Read review

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Advantages: Musically very interesting
Disadvantages: none

...Once descibed as 'the thinking man's spice girls' Mediaeval Baebes are quite unlike anyone else I can think of. Twelve young women with a shared passion for ancient music is a rare find, and their increasing willingness to experiment is making them very interesting to follow. A bit of background - their first album, 'Salva Nos,' came out in 1997, consisted largely of singing with some accompanyment in the style of the older songs. (The odd drum and flute)'Worlde's Blysse' followed in 1998. 'Undrentide' is a superb piece of work - mellow, surprising, diverse and in many ways more sophisticated than their earlier work. The tracks on the album are largely in Middle English, which as a language has an odd sound - it is a fair bit like the English we use today sometimes, but brighter, there's something clearer about the timbres it... Read review

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Advantages: new sound and great voice arrangements
Disadvantages: none

...They?ve come a long way, Baebey. With Spring in the air, frisky young maidens the Medieval Baebes are back on the scene with a new album (?Undrentide?) a new producer (John Cale ? yes, as in The Velvet Underground), a new label (RCA Classics) and a new, souped up sound. With three years and much celebrity between them and their sparse, rough-around-the-edges first album, Salva Nos (1997), the Baebes offer up a collection of songs on the theme of springtime and reawakening. Under the influence of Cale, they have developed the instrumental side of their work considerably ? adding drum machines, guitars and recorders to their signature sound of olde worlde girly singing. The result is a fascinating fusion of pseudo-medieval and twenty first century aesthetics. The girls? singing capabilities have come forward in leaps and bounds since... Read review

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